Medline to close Lincoln County distribution center, 220 to lose jobs – Business North Carolina

A medical supply company will close its distribution center in Lincolnton by this summer, resulting in the loss of about 220 jobs, according to paperwork filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Medline Industries will consolidate its Lincolnton operations with its 1.2 million square-foot distribution center that it opened last year in Mebane. About 20 of the Lincolnton employees will be offered an opportunity to stay with the company and relocate to Mebane.

The company released a statement saying that consolidating its operations in Mebane will allow it to “better serve the needs of its healthcare customers.”

“All Lincolnton team members are eligible to apply for other open positions at Medline. Those team members who do not place in another Medline role will receive a severance package and outplacement services to assist in their transition,” according to the statement.

Terminations began in Lincolnton on March 25, and there will be three more termination dates to follow, according to the company. Lincoln County had a 3.2% unemployment rate in March, compared to the state’s 3.5% rate, according to the Department of Commerce.

Medline started operating in Lincoln County in 2015 in an approximate 400,000-square-foot space.

Medline invested $103.5 million in its Mebane distribution center, making it “among the largest medical-grade distribution centers in the southeastern United States,” the company reported in October 2023. The Mebane distribution center handles thousands of medical products and its reach includes the entire southeast region of the nation.

The Mebane center employed 245 workers last year and was expected to generate $12 million in payroll in Orange County, the company reported. The company expects the Mebane distribution center to eventually employ about 600 workers.

Based in Northfield, Illinois, Medline has more than 38,000 employees and operates in more than 125 countries. It has more than 50 distribution centers and 20-plus manufacturing facilities across North America.