UPS slashes 20,000 jobs and offers voluntary buyouts to drivers

One of the largest private mail and parcel carriers in the United States is slashing 20,000 jobs and offering voluntary buyouts to its full-time drivers.

The move by UPS is part of the company’s plans to cut overall costs following a decision earlier this year to reduce the number of Amazon deliveries it handles, the Daily Mail reported in April. 

The company says it will offer drivers “a generous financial package” if they choose to leave. The benefits, which would be in addition to earned retirement benefits, would include a pension and healthcare. 

UPS is one of the largest parcel delivery companies in the United States, but it and its competitor, FedEx, were both recently overtaken by e-commerce giant Amazon, which uses its own drivers and third-party partners to deliver orders placed on the platform. Amazon orders constitute about 12% of all UPS deliveries, but UPS determined that its profit margins on the partnership were too low. 

The Teamsters union, which represents about 330,000 UPS drivers, more than half of the workforce, called the decision an “illegal violation” of a contract in which UPS committed to creating more jobs. 

“Our members cannot be bought off, and we will not allow them to be sold out. UPS needs to live up to the existing contract. They must honor their commitments,” general president of the union, Sean O’Brien, said. 

The UPS layoffs are the latest in a string of workforce reorganizations taking place at major American companies in the last several years, including Intel, Amazon, Microsoft, and Walmart, which have slashed tens of thousands of jobs between them.