Latest news with #voluntarybuyouts
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UPS drivers to receive buyout offer as company shrinks parcel network
UPS plans to offer voluntary buyouts to unionized delivery drivers for the first time in its history as it looks to align the workforce with the downsizing of its domestic ground network and Amazon business. The news follows management's disclosure in April of intentions to eliminate 20,000 front-line positions as part of a broader effort to cut excess capacity and improve profits. UPS's (NYSE: UPS) network optimization plan, called Network of the Future, envisions closing 200 sortation centers over five years and increasing automation for handling packages. Dozens of facilities have already been consolidated in the past year. Package drivers would 'receive a generous financial package if they choose to leave UPS' on top of earned retirement benefits, including pension and healthcare, the parcel freight company said in a statement Thursday. 'As we navigate an unprecedented business landscape, we are executing the largest network reconfiguration in UPS history' and need to similarly adjust headcount, the company explained. Parcel volumes are under pressure from a variety of headwinds, including Trump administration tariffs that have slowed imports and a January decision to reduce Amazon business by 50% over 18 months because so much of it is unprofitable. UPS's voluntary severance plan angered the Teamsters union, which says the Atlanta-based company is obligated to create 30,000 jobs under a five-year contract ratified in August 2023, which forestalled a nationwide strike. It urged members to reject the buyout offer. '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. It is an illegal violation of our national contract,' said Teamsters President Sean O'Brien in a news release. 'UPS is obligated to establish tens of thousands of new full-time jobs under the agreement. But CEO Carol Tomé and UPS's corporate managers are hoping that if they offer paltry severance packages to enough workers, no one will notice the company is setting the union's contract on fire. UPS Teamsters work too damn hard to be treated with such disrespect.' Teamster contracts enable UPS drivers employed 30 years or more to receive employer-paid health care throughout retirement, a benefit that would not be guaranteed to all workers under UPS's severance plan, according to the union. The current contract calls for UPS to elevate 22,500 part-time workers to full-time positions and create another 7,500 positions. 'We have approached the Teamsters on this topic and remain committed to the agreements we reached in 2023,' UPS said. The Teamsters, which represents 340,000 UPS workers, last week accused UPS of failing to comply with the hiring requirement and a commitment to provide 28,000 air conditioned package cars and vans for heat relief in many parts of the country. It requested data from UPS on the status of open positions, as well as the delivery rate for vehicles equipped with air conditioning. The Teamsters gave the company until July 1 to provide answers, but the company has requested additional time to respond, the union said. 'Our members cannot be bought off and we will not allow them to be sold out. The Teamsters are prepared to fight UPS on every front with every available resource to shut down this illegal buyout program,' O'Brien said. 'UPS needs to live up to the existing contract. They must honor their commitments, just as Teamsters do every day, reliably delivering packages to hundreds of millions of Americans. Profits are not more important than people, not at UPS or any other employer.' UPS executives said during April's earnings presentation that the company expects to save more than $1.2 billion this year by eliminating 25 million operating hours across the workforce. A similar amount in semi-variable cost reductions are estimated from the reduction of 20,000 employees. Click here for more FreightWaves/PostalMag stories by Eric Kulisch. Teamsters complain UPS slow to deploy air conditioned vehicles Switch to UPS saved US Postal Service 43% in air transport costs UPS to eliminate 20K jobs as Amazon decoupling accelerates The post UPS drivers to receive buyout offer as company shrinks parcel network appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UPS Plans to Offer Voluntary Buyouts to Union Drivers
United Parcel Service Inc. plans to offer voluntary buyouts to union-represented delivery truck drivers as the company works to slim down its operations. Drivers would receive 'a generous financial package if they choose to leave UPS,' in addition to any earned retirement benefits, including pension and health care, the company said in a statement on Thursday. UPS did not specify how many employees would be offered the package.
Washington Post
24-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Maryland Gov. Moore tells state workers to prepare for hiring freeze, buyouts
Gov. Wes Moore told Maryland state employees on Tuesday that they should brace for a hiring freeze, voluntary buyouts and cuts to the workforce to balance a state budget that has been heavily impacted by Trump administration spending cuts, according to an employee email from the governor reviewed by The Washington Post. Moore told state employees in the email that the budget for fiscal year 2026, which was passed by the General Assembly this spring, requires his office to cut costs in the General Fund by $121 million. The state will implement a hiring freeze on July 1, a move that comes after months of Moore and state lawmakers trying to entice former federal workers fired by President Donald Trump to come work for the state of Maryland. Separately, Moore said the state will be launching a voluntary buyout program, the details of which are still being developed, according to the staff email. More information on the buyouts will be announced in 'the next several weeks,' Moore said. The governor said the state will also be 'assessing opportunities' to eliminate jobs slots within state agencies and other parts of state government that are not currently filled — a process that will ponder whether those positions align with 'mission priorities.' 'In these unprecedented times, Maryland is being tested by two storms: A historic fiscal challenge — the worst since the Great Recession — and a federal administration that continues to harm Maryland's people and the economy,' Moore wrote in the email to state employees. 'Our action positions Maryland to more effectively navigate the extreme uncertainty caused by federal actions.' The governor said that state officials are 'committed to engaging with our public sector unions as we work through these difficult decisions.' The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This is a developing story and will be updated.
