By James McNair
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Capping a week in which their employer sold its assets and filed for bankruptcy, the 230 workers at Micro Warehouse's distribution center in Wilmington are bracing for layoff notices today.

Micro Warehouse, a computer and software reseller based in Norwalk, Conn., said Monday that it agreed to sell its inventory and other assets to CDW Corp. of Chicago for about $22 million. Two days later, it sought protection from creditors in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in Wilmington, Del.

CDW said Thursday that it had not decided what it will do with the Micro Warehouse operation in Wilmington, Ohio. Nor could the company say how much of Micro Warehouse's total work force of 1,300 employees it will retain.

"I don't have a number, but we're going to be keeping employees who are in sales, and there would be job elimination in areas that duplicate CDW staff functions," CDW spokesman Gary Ross said.

CDW's lone distribution center - in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills - serves the entire United States. At 450,000 square feet, it is more than twice as large as Micro Warehouse's 10-year-old building in Wilmington.

"The building was actually not part of the (purchase) transaction," Ross said. "The inventory will be sold to customers. We are shipping orders out of there today, but in terms of the workers, we told them at some point in time, we would be able to discuss their future."

Micro Warehouse ships Apple Computer's Macintosh brand and PC products from the ABX hub established at the former Clinton Air Force Base. Many customers are familiar with the company's MacWarehouse and PCWarehouse mail-order catalogs.

John Hosler, director of the Clinton County Department of Jobs and Family Services, said his agency expects to fashion a rapid-response outplacement fair for Micro Warehouse's employees.

"We're preparing for a full-scale, 230-person layoff tomorrow," Hosler said. "Our people are putting job placement packets together so they can have it when they leave the plant. We're going to need to rent space to bring folks in."

Karen Haley, president of the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce, said Micro Warehouse is not one of the county's 10 biggest employers. If there is a mass layoff, she thinks other companies will be able to absorb many of the workers."People are looking for skilled employees," Haley said.

E-mail jmcnair@enquirer.com.