UPS to cut 20,000 jobs as it pulls back from Amazon

United Parcel Service 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.

Asked how many Virginia employees are expected to lose their jobs, a UPS spokesperson responded by email to say the company doesn’t “plan to share additional details until we are confident that all impacted individuals have been informed.”

More than 300,000 UPS employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to the company. The union could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

An employee who has worked at the UPS facility on Thirlane Road in Roanoke for more than two decades said Tuesday he thinks it’s unlikely it will close because plans are in the works to modernize the facility. The worker, a member Teamsters Local 171 in Salem, said “If that were to get canceled or delayed, I’d be more concerned.”

UPS 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.

Virginia Business Associate Editor Beth JoJack contributed to this report.