UPS to reduce workforce by 30,000 jobs, close 24 facilities in 2026

UPS to reduce workforce by 30,000 jobs, close 24 facilities in 2026 Following decreased fourth quarter revenue, shipping and logistics giant UPS has announced a plan to globally reduce operational positions by up to 30,000 and close more than 20 facilities across the company in 2026.

UPS CFO Brian Dykes said during a company earnings call on Jan. 27 that the logistics company intends to “reduce total operational hours by approximately 25 million hours” and make a massive reduction in positions as the company continues to decrease the package volume it handles and leans into automating its operations.

The quarter, which was largely impacted by the deadly crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville, saw UPS bring in a consolidated revenue of $24.5 billion, a decrease of 3.2% when compared to the same quarter of 2024, the company reported Jan. 27.

When comparing the full year 2025 to full year 2024, UPS saw a decrease in total revenue of $2.4 billion. Dykes also said on Jan. 27 that the U.S. average daily volume was down more than 2 million pieces and attributed much of that decrease to the reduction of transporting Amazon volume.

In response, UPS is further turning toward its ongoing “transformation strategy” to cuts costs and make its network more efficient, company officials said during the Jan. 27 earnings call.

As part of this yearslong strategy, UPS previously saw a workforce reduction of roughly 14,000 positions, primarily in management across the company and a reduction of its operational workforce by about 48,000 positions by the end of 2025.

UPS intends to reduce these workforce positions through attrition and a second voluntary separation program, also known as a buyout, to its full-time drivers. In 2025, UPS offered a buyout to full-time drivers for the first time in company history, with a goal of reducing the workforce enough to make a meaningful impact on cost reduction. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters previously argued the buyout offers violate the 2023 labor contract.

With plans to reduce its workforce in effect, 2026 will now mark the third consecutive year of UPS workforce reduction.

In 2025, UPS also closed daily operations at 93 facilities. UPS expects to close 24 facilities across the company in the first half of 2026, Dykes said.

“We’re evaluating additional buildings to be closed later in the year, plus we plan to further deploy automation across the network,” Dykes said.

As a result of these completed and planned workforce reductions, facility closures and other steps, UPS is expected to see savings of about $3 billion in 2026.

UPS has roughly 25,000 workers in Greater Louisville and operates a variety of facilities including UPS Worldport, UPS Centennial Hub, UPS Labport, a slew of UPS Healthcare facilities and some UPS Supply Chain Solutions facilities. It is not immediately clear if any UPS facilities in the Louisville area may be closed in 2026.

Also in the earnings call on Jan. 27, UPS announced the complete retirement of its MD-11 fleet. UPS had been working to retire the MD-11 for a few years and in the fourth quarter of 2022, the company announced it would retire nine MD-11 planes from its fleet during 2023, to be ultimately replaced by more modern Boeing planes.

The accelerated retirement of all its MD-11 planes follows the deadly on Nov. 4. crash, which led to the deaths of 15 people, including the three person UPS crew, is the deadliest crash in the history of UPS Airlines.

Contact Business Reporter Olivia Evans at [email protected] or on X at @oliviamevans_.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: UPS to reduce workforce by 30,000 jobs, close 24 facilities in 2026

Reporting by Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal / Louisville Courier Journal

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