HSN announces closure of Roanoke fulfillment center

ROANOKE (WSLS) - On Tuesday, HSN, formerly Home Shopping Network, announced plans to transition fulfillment operations from their Roanoke County facility to Piney Flats, Tennessee.

Brad Bohnert, a spokesperson for HSN, said the company would eliminate 350 positions in phases beginning in April of 2016 and continuing through the end of next year.

"The decision to transition HSN's fulfillment operations is based on a multi-year initiative to enhance the company's fulfillment capabilities and maximize efficiencies through automation, " said a company spokesperson.

Roanoke County Board of Supervisor Al Bedrosian said the company's move was out of the county's control.

"There have never been any talks," he said. "They didn't come to us asking for something and then we turned them down."

Roanoke County Economic Development Director Jill Loope was caught off guard by the announcement.

"Roanoke County has worked with HSN for many years to ensure that efficient and effective services are provided to the company. While we regret the decision that HSN has decided to relocate their Roanoke based operations, Roanoke County will immediately begin working with the property owner to market the facility to new business prospects," Loope said."

Loope pointed out the successful recruitment of Ardagh packaging to the former Hanover Direct building as one example of re-purposing a vacant warehouse.

As big businesses like HSN and Norfolk Southern prepare to move jobs out of the Roanoke region, local leaders said they plan to work with companies to promote small business growth.

"Small business, those who are 50 or 20 people, really make up a lot of what we do," said Bedrosian. "I'm optimistic. I think other business come and we keep ourselves as sharp as possible."

Clay Walker, with the networks, Sullivan County Partnership in Tennessee said HSN agreed last year to a three year investment process that would increase staff at the facility by 40 people.

Walker also said HSN agreed to spend $48 million dollars upgrading equipment at the center.

Bohnert said the transition for employees will vary based on specific roles and business needs. The company said it will help employees affected be aware of other available career opportunities with HSN, including those at the Tennessee facility.

HSN said it will provide severance packages and transition assistance services including resume writing workshops, job search tools and a number of other resources to Roanoke fulfillment center employees starting in 2016.

The announcement does not include HSN's Roanoke work-at-home call center program, which will continue to operate after the fulfillment center's closing.

In a statement released to WSLS 10, the company stated:

The decision to transition HSN's fulfillment operations is based on a multi-year initiative to enhance the company's fulfillment capabilities and maximize efficiencies through automation. The retail industry continues to evolve and customer expectations are more demanding than ever. As such, we are always identifying ways to innovate and optimize our operations to deliver an enhanced customer experience.

Although the transition of our fulfillment operations to Piney Flats, TN will not begin for almost a year, we chose to share the news with our employees once plans were finalized to allow those impacted enough time to adequately plan for the future. We sincerely thank our colleagues in the Roanoke facility for their hard work and dedication to HSN and appreciate the support of the Roanoke community at large. We are committed to assisting our employees during this time of transition.