UPS announced it would cut 12,000 jobs — some 2.4% of its more than 500,000-strong global workforce.
The logistics giant said on its earnings call Tuesday that for the fourth quarter, it was seeking $1 billion in cost reductions, citing softer demand and higher union labor costs.
“2023 was a unique and difficult year,” CEO Carol Tomé said in a statement. “Through it all we remained focused on controlling what we could control, stayed on strategy and strengthened our foundation for future growth.”
A UPS spokesperson confirmed that the job cuts represented less than 3% of the company’s workforce and do not impact union-represented roles. Jobs throughout the world and in all functions would be affected at the company, and 75% of the reductions would come in the first half of the year, the spokesperson said.
The company reported fourth-quarter 2023 revenues of $24.92 billion versus the $25.43 billion that Wall Street analysts had expected.
UPS shares were down more than 8% in Tuesday trading.
In July, UPS agreed to a contract with the Teamsters union that pushed the top pay for experienced full-time drivers to $49 an hour and $21 an hour starting pay for a part-time worker.