Why FedEx in Indianapolis is ‘much more than just a job’ for many Hoosier Sikhs

There’s a popular saying in the Indianapolis Sikh community: “If at least one member of a new Sikh family that moves to Indianapolis hasn’t worked at FedEx, then they haven’t really moved to Indianapolis yet.”

Generations of Sikh Hoosiers have worked at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center.

For them, the operations center where eight people including four Sikhs were fatally shot last week wasn’t just a place where they logged hours and earned a living.

“FedEx was a gathering place for them, almost like a community center,” Gaganpal Sing Dhaliwal, who is a seasonal worker for FedEx told IndyStar. “It was much more than just a job for them.”

They carpooled to work. They worked side-by-side with their friends and family. For Sikh immigrants new to Indiana, the type of assembly-line jobs at FedEx didn’t require top-notch English language proficiency.

Sikh Hoosiers were also often promoted as managers and supervisors at the facility, too.

The lively and joyful atmosphere Sikhs Hoosiers created at FedEx was unheard of at other warehouses, Dhaliwal said.

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“Our white colleagues and Black colleagues would even ask us, ‘Where do you guys get all this energy from?'” he said.

That joy was shattered last week when a gunman shot 13 people, including five with non-life threatening injuries, at their beloved workplace on the southwest side of Indianapolis. 

The victims who died were identified as Amarjeet Kaur Johal, 66; Karli Smith, 19; Matthew R Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Jasvinder Kaur, 50; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Amarjit Sekhon, 48 and John Weisert, 74.

There are an estimated 5,000 Sikhs in Central Indiana and 10,000 in the state.

It’s unclear exactly how many Sikh Hoosiers work at the FedEx operations center. In a prepared statement emailed to IndyStar on Monday, FedEx said the company does not collect information about employees’ religious affiliations and other demographic data was not immediately available.

“FedEx Ground is extremely proud of our inclusive and diverse workforce at the station in Indianapolis,” a FedEx spokesperson said in the statement.  “We stand in solidarity with all of our team members during this difficult time, including those of the Sikh community.”

On the night of the shooting, many Sikh Hoosiers were finishing a work shift, having dinner during their break, or coming in to pick up their paycheck.