By GENIVI FACTAO

SAT UK Ltd. has signed an agreement with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to take over the facilities of Federal Express (FedEx), which will be leaving the country in December.

SAT will be investing $500 million to establish manufacturing facilities for airships near the airport where FedEX facilities are located.

The company will be manufacturing communication facilities for exports and domestic consumption inside the 20 -hectare facility presently occupied by FedEx. SAT operates in Spain, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

SAT said that if there is a company interested to operate like FedEx, it can accommodate this venture.

Meanwhile, FedEx said some of its people who hold positions that do not support the operations of the Asia Pacific Hub in Subic Bay have the option to relocate to Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, or China.

"We are taking immediate steps to keep as many employees in the FedEx family as possible.

During the transition and after the relocation of employees, FedEx operations in the Philippines will operate as normal," FedEx said.

FedEx said it remains committed to providing the best possible services to its customers in the Philippines.

"We are taking immediate steps to keep as many employees in the FedEx family as possible.

Affected employees who are not successful applying for other comparable jobs within FedEx or who do not have the opportunity to relocate will be provided a severance payment which is in excess of that required by the labor law in the Philippines," it added.

SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said FedEx contribute about P180 million a year for SBMA in terms of rentals.

FedEx’ pullout, would also mean losses in landing fees, jobs and would also affect the companies which support FedEx operation in Subic.
FedEx will make its facility in Guangzhou, China as its Asia Pacific hub, which has 80,000 square meters of floor space seated in the 63,000 hectares of land, its biggest facility outside the mainland USA.

FedEx will be maintaining its operations in the country through Air 21, nevertheless its transfer means a significant loss to the government after closing the local hub.