Chesco's QVC to cut 147 warehouse jobs

WEST GOSHEN QVC, the home-shopping TV studio and warehouse distributor based in West Goshen Township, notified the state earlier this month that it plans to lay off 147 warehouse workers in Chester County this year.

The company is one of Chester County's largest employers, with 2,800 employees in the county. QVC employs an additional 1,200 in Lancaster County.

QVC is transferring its distribution operations from West Goshen to its larger distribution center in Florence, S.C., which also uses more advanced technology. The move is meant to increase efficiency, said Diane Zappas, a QVC spokeswoman.

The distribution center in West Goshen is scheduled to close by the end of the year.

The company offered jobs at its Lancaster County facility to some of the Chester County employees whose positions the company is cutting.

About 20 people have accepted jobs in Lancaster County.

The cuts include full-time and part-time employees, whom the company told in March about the layoffs.

"Our employees are very important to us," Zappas said. "Obviously, this is a very difficult decision we had to make."

QVC, founded in 1986, has 17,000 employees and is available in 300 million homes worldwide, according to the company. - Michaelle Bond