A distribution company in Lehigh County is laying off dozens of workers by the end of the year.

Allen Distribution in Upper Macungie Township announced it will be laying off 70 workers in total. The warehouse is just down the road from the Kuhnsville Hotel, a restaurant that Tina Pradel opens early for the workers.

“A lot of warehouses get out at 6, 6:30, 7, and they come here, they have breakfast, they relax, and they go home,” said Pradel.

Pradel said she didn’t even have to go online to learn about the layoffs. She heard about it in her restaurant.

“Some of my customers even are affected by it. They tell me they’re losing their jobs, and it’s very difficult for them, and it’s very sad to see. It really is,” said Pradel.

CEO Don Cunningham at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation said what’s happening at Allen Distribution is representative of the wider logistics sector.

“2025 has been a bit of upheaval in terms of the movement of goods. A lot of that has been driven by changing tariff rates, uncertainty in the supply chain,” said Cunningham.

He said the majority of layoffs this year in the Lehigh Valley region have come from distribution centers. Allen Distribution’s announcement this week means the Lehigh Valley is now at 1,027 layoffs for the year so far. That’s a number that has already surpassed the number of layoffs announced for all of last year, which was 948, and there’s still two months left to go. But Cunningham said it’s not time to worry.

“We have the highest employment that we’ve ever had in the Lehigh Valley. We’re at 341,000 people employed in the market. Our manufacturing numbers are going up, as are our life science and tech numbers,” said Cunningham.

And he said overall the Lehigh Valley economy is still growing.

“We’re very comfortable with where we are. We think the numbers are going well, but we still feel for anybody who is, I think temporarily displaced, because companies are still hiring,” said Cunningham.

Pradel hopes those companies hire her customers affected by the layoffs.

“I just wish everyone the best, and I hope everyone prospers in the area,” said Pradel.

Cunningham told us he expects the volatility in the logistics and distribution sector to calm down by the second or third quarter next year.