Johnathan Walker:UPS to layoff nearly 12,000 employees across the globe to 'align resources for 2024'

UPS plans to layoff nearly 12,Johnathan Walker000 employees following a massive year-over-year decline in revenue, company officials told USA TODAY Tuesday morning.

The workforce reduction is part of an effort to align resources in 2024 and will save the company nearly $1 billion, the Atlanta-based company's CEO Carole Tomé said on a company earnings call.

“I want to thank UPSers for providing the best on-time performance of any carrier for the sixth year in a row,” Tomé said in a statement released by the company Tuesday. “2023 was a unique and difficult year and through it all we remained focused on controlling what we could control, stayed on strategy and strengthened our foundation for future growth.”

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More than $9 billion decline in revenue

UPS Director of Financial and Strategy Communications Brian Hughes confirmed the layoffs to USA TODAY.

"In 2023, dynamic external and economic conditions led to lower volume and a more than $9 billion decline in revenue year over year," Hughes wrote in an email.

As a result, Hughes said, the company plans to 'right-size' its global staffing and eliminate roughly 12,000 jobs around the world over the next several months and that 75% of the reductions will come during the first half of 2024.

He would not say exactly which positions would be eliminated.

"It’s important to note that the reduction of less than 3% of our workforce does not impact union-represented roles," Hughes said, adding drivers are typically union members. "However, we continue to align staffing in our operations to the needs of our business. "

Hughes said the company will provide support to all affected employees, including severance packages and outplacement assistance.

On Tuesday, according to the company's website, UPS had more than 500,000 employees in more than 200 countries and territories.

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UPS reports $2.5 billion in Q4 profit

The announcement came as UPS announced fourth-quarter 2023 consolidated revenues of $24.9 billion − a 7.8% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2022

"Consolidated operating profit was $2.5 billion, down 22.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, and down 27.1% on an adjusted basis," the company said in its release. "Diluted earnings per share were $1.87 for the quarter; adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.47 were 31.8% below the same period in 2022.

On the heels of a potential strike

The announcement comes nearly six months after UPS and the Teamsters, the union representing roughly 340,000 UPS workers, reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract.

This tentative consensus agreement between the parties, which at the time Tomé described as a "win-win-win agreement," helped UPS and the U.S. economy avoid a potentially crippling blow to the nation’s logistics network.

In the months of negotiations leading up to the agreement, the Teamsters were threatening to go on strike - a move that would have marked the largest single-employer strike in U.S. History.

Contributing: Olivia Evans and Matthew Glowicki with the Louisville Courier Journal

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.