By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer
UPS is looking to slash about 20,000 jobs and close more than 70 facilities as it drastically reduces the amount of Amazon shipments it handles.
The package delivery company said Tuesday that it anticipates making the job cuts this year. It anticipates closing 73 leased and owned buildings by the end of June. UPS said that it is still reviewing its network and may identify more buildings to be shuttered.
“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 on Tuesday. “The macro environment may be uncertain, but with our actions, we will emerge as an even stronger, more nimble UPS.”
In January UPS announced that it had reached a deal with Amazon, its biggest customer, to lower its volume by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.
During UPS’ fourth-quarter earnings conference call in January, Tomé said that the company had partnered with Amazon for almost 30 years and that when its contract came up this year, UPS decided to reassess the relationship.
“Amazon is our largest customer but it’s not our most profitable customer,” Tomé said at the time. “Its margin is very dilutive to the U.S. domestic business.”
Tomé said that UPS considered various options and determined that the volume reduction was the best alternative.
The company employs about 490,000 workers, according to FactSet.
United Parcel Service Inc. also reported its first-quarter financial results on Tuesday. The Atlanta-based 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.
Shares of UPS rose slightly in morning trading.
Originally Published:
