UPS Cutting Staff: What Move Means for Your Deliveries
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United Parcel Service (UPS) is laying off thousands of front-line employees and shuttering dozens of facilities as part of what it calls the "largest network reconfiguration" in company history.
UPS confirmed Thursday that it would be offering voluntary buyouts to its union-represented U.S. drivers for the first time as part of this sweeping restructuring effort, aimed at increasing efficiency in response to a decline in package volumes.
Why It Matters
UPS is the largest courier in the country, delivering an estimated 19 million packages in the U.S. every day. The leaner workforce could impact UPS's operational capacity and affect the businesses and everyday customers who rely on its services. However, the company has expressed its continued commitment to ensuring the same level of service and confidence in its ability to navigate changing industry trends.
The job cuts and buyout plan—which has sparked a confrontation with the Teamsters Union, representing over 300,000 UPS employees—are taking place against a backdrop of shifting trade dynamics that have created uncertainty across global supply chains.
What To Know
In April, UPS announced that it would be cutting 20,000 jobs and shuttering 73 facilities in 2025 as part of its ongoing "Network Reconfiguration and Efficiency Reimagined" initiative, which aims to streamline the business through automation and consolidation of its U.S. operations. The announcement followed earlier news that UPS would be reducing reliance on Amazon as a customer and experiencing a decline in shipping as a result.
In January, UPS unveiled this "glide down" plan to cut transported order volumes with the e-commerce giant "more than 50 percent by the second half of 2026."
A UPS driver makes a delivery in the Brooklyn borough of New York on March 26, 2024.
A UPS driver makes a delivery in the Brooklyn borough of New York on March 26, 2024.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
On Thursday, UPS announced that it would be offering voluntary buyouts to full-time drivers as part of its "largest network reconfiguration" ever.
"We are looking to offer our full-time U.S. drivers the opportunity to participate in a voluntary program that would provide an opportunity to receive a generous financial package if they choose to leave UPS," the Atlanta-based company said in a statement shared with Newsweek. In addition to this unspecified payout, drivers would also receive earned retirement benefits, including pensions and health care.
Sean M. O'Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, called the plan "an illegal violation" of the contract it struck with UPS in 2023 to create 22,500 jobs over five years. "UPS is trying to weasel its way out of creating good union jobs here in America by dangling insulting buyouts in front of Teamsters drivers," O'Brien said on Thursday.
UPS told Newsweek it remains "committed" to the agreements reached with the Teamsters Union in 2023 and that it has approached the union regarding the matter. Newsweek also reached out to the Teamsters Union via for comment.
Will UPS Restructuring Impact Deliveries?
While it did not comment on how the restructuring process would impact deliveries and delivery times, UPS told Newsweek: "As we work through our network reconfiguration, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing our customers with the reliable, industry-leading service they expect from UPS."
As well as the increased incorporation of automation into its business, the layoffs are motivated by the planned decline in Amazon shipping volumes, according to UPS. As a result, the decrease in staffing could be balanced by a reduced workload, therefore preventing major interruptions to customers' shipments.
In April, Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes said the layoffs and closures were "in line with the total Amazon volume decline," adding that package volumes from Amazon had already dropped by more than had been expected during the first quarter.
While sizeable, the cuts announced in April will also only affect slightly more than four percent of UPS's 490,000-strong workforce.
Given the recency of the announcement, it remains unclear how many employees will accept this buyout offer or whether union resistance could force UPS to scale back its restructuring plans.
What Happens Next?
UPS has not announced a timeline for when union drivers will receive formal buyout offers. Labor tensions are expected to persist as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters signals further resistance.
No specific disruptions have yet been confirmed as a result of the layoffs, though U.S. consumers and businesses may see changes in delivery operations as the restructuring unfolds.
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