Coca Cola to close Woodland distribution center Coca Cola is closing its Woodland distribution center as part of a regional consolidation this spring, affecting 56 employees, according to officials.
The center will close April 1, said Sacha Monpere, spokeswoman with Coca-Cola Enterprises in California. The distribution work will transferred to a new distribution center at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Oregon's Wilsonville headquarters south of Portland, she said.
In a letter notifying Cowlitz County about the closure, the company listed 56 positions that will be "impacted" by the closure. The letter goes on to say that non-management employees will be offered positions in Wilsonville.
Monpere said sales and operations employees who work in the field will remain in place. The distribution and warehouse workers have been offered transfers to Wilsonville and a "substantial number" have accepted, she said. Some employees are still deciding, so Monpere did not have exact figures. She also did not have a breakdown of how many of the 56 work in sales and how many work in distribution.
"We regret having to make this decision and have attempted to do so in such a way as to minimize the impact on our employees and our community," the notification letter to the county reads.
In addition to Woodland, Coca-Cola also is consolidating Oregon distribution centers in Tualatin and The Dalles to the Wilsonville site, according to Scott Kappes, the Capacity Commercial Group Relator for the Woodland building.
"They just expanded their Wilsonville bottling plant, so there's room there (for the distribution centers)," Kappes said. "So they don't need (the Woodland building) anymore. The building is not for lease. Coke just wants to sell it."
The 22,000-square-foot building is on nearly five acres on Glenwood Street. It's listed for sale at nearly $1.6 million and already has been visited by companies in Portland and Seattle, Kappes said. It will be available in April, Kappes said.
The distribution center is the "only freestanding industrial building in Woodland that's for sale," Kappes said. It's zoned for light industrial and would be able to serve as a distribution center, light assembly or light manufacturing site, he said.
