Sodexo, Detroit Schools Agree on Repayment Plan

Sodexo has rescinded a notice of pending layoffs for its 476 employees at the Detroit Public Schools following agreement on a payment schedule to pay monies it is owed from the district for custodial and facility management services, reports Crains Detroit. Sodexo and another management firm, Powerlink Facilities Management Services, had claimed that they are owed more than $18 million on an outsource labor contract and had filed a layoff notice June 14th as required by federal law.

Sodexo and Powerlink had signed a five-year deal with Detroit Public Schools in 2011 to provide building engineering, groundskeeping/landscaping, HVAC, custodial and other services to district facilities for about $30 million a year, but the district had fallen more than $18 million behind on payments, half of it over 90 days past due.