UPS 'committed to supporting' employees during upcoming layoffs, facility closures

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A United Parcel Service driver sits in his delivery truck on Jan. 31, 2023, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - Sandy Springs-based UPS says it will support its workers through an upcoming round of layoffs this year.

Earlier this week, the company announced that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs and close 73 leased and owned facilities by the end of June.

Why is UPS making the job cuts?

What we know:

The package company says the move is part of a plan to drastically reduce the amount of Amazon shipments it handles.

In January, UPS announced that it had struck a deal with Amazon, its largest client, to minimize its volume by over 50% by 2026. 

The company is still reviewing its network and may identify more buildings to be shuttered. Specific details about which areas of business and what buildings may face the cuts were not released. 

What they're saying:

In a statement to FOX 5, a company spokesperson said UPS was "committed to supporting our employees throughout this process."

"While our building footprint is changing, our record of reliable pickup and delivery is not," the statement read. "We remain committed to providing industry-leading service to customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world."

"The actions we are taking to reconfigure our network and reduce cost across our business could not be timelier," CEO Carol Tomé said in a statement announcing the layoffs. "The macro environment may be uncertain, but with our actions, we will emerge as an even stronger, more nimble UPS."

By the numbers:

The company employs about 490,000 workers, according to FactSet.

This week, United Parcel Service Inc. also reported its first-quarter financial results. The company earned $1.19 billion, or $$1.40 per share, in the quarter ended March 31.

Stripping out certain items, earnings were $1.49 per share. That’s better than the $1.44 per share that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research were calling for.

Revenue totaled $21.55 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $21.06 billion.

UPS said that it wasn’t providing any updates to its previously announced full-year outlook, given current macroeconomic uncertainty. The company previously said that it expected 2025 revenue of approximately $89 billion.