UPS to cut up to 30,000 jobs and close facilities as Amazon volumes fall
UPS will cut as many as 30,000 jobs and close at least 24 facilities as it reduces deliveries for Amazon. The company plans buyouts, attrition and a pivot toward healthcare logistics.
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By Torontoer Staff
UPS said it will cut up to 30,000 jobs this year and close at least 24 facilities as package volume from its largest customer, Amazon, declines. The reductions, the company said, will target workers who handle and deliver packages and represent about 6 per cent of its global workforce.
The announcement came during UPS’s fourth-quarter earnings call, where executives described the moves as part of a broader plan to shrink and reconfigure the network while shifting capacity toward higher-margin business lines, including healthcare logistics.
The scale of the cuts
UPS has roughly 490,000 employees worldwide. The company said the 30,000 positions are the maximum number it may eliminate this year; last year it removed 20,000 positions and closed 93 facilities in 2025. The new reductions will focus on roles directly tied to package handling and delivery.
Why Amazon matters
UPS has been reducing the volume of packages it carries for Amazon after reaching an agreement in principle to more than halve that volume by the second half of 2026. CEO Carol Tomé said the company has cut roughly 1 million Amazon pieces per day so far, and that decline is expected to continue into 2026.
Amazon is our largest customer, but it’s not our most profitable customer. Its margin is very dilutive to the US domestic business.
Carol Tomé, UPS chief executive
How UPS will implement reductions
UPS said it plans to realise much of the headcount reduction through attrition and by offering voluntary buyouts to full-time drivers. The company emphasised planning and technology investments as tools to downsize the network while maintaining service levels.
Deliberately shrinking a network is a daunting task, and our success was driven by disciplined planning and effective execution as well as the added flexibility and efficiency that’s coming from deploying state-of-the-art technology and automation across a smaller and nimbler network.
Carol Tomé, UPS chief executive
Chief financial officer Brian Dykes said the company will prioritise voluntary measures first. "The reduction in jobs will be realised through attrition," he said, signalling fewer forced layoffs in the immediate term.
A strategic pivot toward healthcare
UPS is betting on higher-margin segments as Amazon volumes fall. Executives highlighted healthcare logistics as a growth area, citing demand for specialised transportation of medical products such as vaccines. That shift is part of a wider attempt to rebalance the business mix away from large, low-margin e-commerce contracts.
Context and market reaction
The announcement comes amid broader concerns about the US labour market, which added fewer jobs than expected in December even as the unemployment rate fell. UPS reported fourth-quarter consolidated revenues of US$24.5 billion, above analyst expectations, and its share price was little changed on the day of the earnings call.
- Potential job cuts: up to 30,000 positions, about 6% of global workforce
- Facilities to close: at least 24
- Amazon volume reduction: roughly 1 million pieces per day so far
- Workforce size: about 490,000 employees worldwide
- Q4 revenue: US$24.5 billion
More than half of UPS’s workforce is represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a factor the company will have to consider as it moves forward with network reductions and buyout programmes.
What employees and customers should expect
UPS said it will prioritise voluntary departures and attrition, and will deploy automation to improve efficiency across a smaller network. Customers may see capacity and route changes as the company shifts volumes away from Amazon and expands healthcare logistics operations.
Executives described the restructure as a deliberate repositioning aimed at protecting margins and preparing for a different mix of business over the coming years.
UPS’s plan reflects a larger industry trend of parcel carriers reassessing contract volumes, operational footprints and investments in automation as e-commerce patterns evolve. The company says the moves will make the network more efficient, while it seeks new revenue streams to offset reduced volumes from major customers.
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