UPS Layoffs: Are 20K Jobs Being Cut Because Of Amazon?

The Atlanta-based company announced the layoffs Tuesday in its first-quarter earnings report, citing them as part of a consolidation plan to cut costs after reporting $21.5 billion in revenue, a 0.7% decrease from the same period last year.

UPS plans to close dozens of buildings by the end of June

UPS delivers to more than 200 countries, has around 490,000 employees, and provides about 330,000 full and part-time Teamsters-represented jobs. CBS News reported that the job cuts will impact slightly over 4% of its workforce.

In addition to the layoffs, the parcel delivery service announced that 73 leased and owned buildings will permanently shut down by the end of June.

“We are continuing to review our network and may identify additional buildings for closure,” the company said in the report.

UPS’ CEO and CFO speak out amid changes

“These actions will enable us to expand our U.S. Domestic operating margin and increase profitability,” Brian Dykes, the chief financial officer of UPS, said during an earnings call on Tuesday morning, per CBS News.

According to the company, “changes in general economic conditions in the U.S. or internationally” follow tariffs President Donald Trump imposed to reduce trade deficits with China and other countries. As a result, major companies are now seeking ways to cut costs amid concerns about the tariffs’ impact on U.S. imports.

“As a trusted leader in global logistics, we will leverage our integrated network and trade expertise to assist our customers as they adapt to a changing trade environment,” UPS CEO Carol Tomé said in the report. “Further, the actions we are taking to reconfigure our network and reduce cost across our business could not be timelier. The macro environment may be uncertain, but with our actions, we will emerge as an even stronger, more nimble UPS.”

How will Trump’s tariffs impact the trade market?

Trump has engaged in several exchanges with China over the implementation and scale of tariffs on U.S. imports, prompting China to impose retaliatory tariffs.

Two popular China-based e-commerce sites, Shein and Temu, are the latest companies to be hit with 145% in imported taxes on Chinese-imported goods. According to its website, Shein relies on UPS as one of its carriers for shipping in the United States and uses the parcel delivery service for return shipping.

UPS also announced plans to reduce Amazon.com deliveries, a move it hinted at in a January report outlining efforts to cut millions of shipments. The retail giant accounted for 11.8% of the company’s total revenue in 2024, USA Today and CNBC reported.

“We are reducing the amount of volume we deliver for Amazon by more than 50% by June 2026,” Dykes said in a statement to USA Today. “Associated with this volume reduction, we are undertaking the largest network reconfiguration in our history. This effort has been combined with our Network of the Future initiative as both will help drive us to a more efficient network.”