Duke Realty announces layoffs amid acquisition

Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE) has notified the state of its plans to lay off 120 employees. The move comes as the logistics real estate firm is set to be acquired by San Francisco-based Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD) in a $26 billion deal announced in June.

The acquisition is slated to close on October 3, pending shareholder approval. Duke says the layoffs will begin on that date and continue through the new year.

However, the layoffs are likely to continue. Our partners at the Indianapolis Business Journal report nearly 300 Duke employees are expected to be laid off with about 40 joining Prologis.

Duke CEO Jim Connor said the affected employees will receive severance packages from Prologis.

“Our employees are all shareholders, so they’ll see the benefit,” Connor said. “We also went to extreme lengths to make sure that all of our associates were treated very generously, in terms of their severance, to the point of where nobody needs to rush out and get a job.”

Duke officials are also working to help the affected employees find new jobs as well.

You can read the full story on the acquisition from the IBJ’s Mickey Shuey by clicking here.