United Parcel Service on Tuesday said it would cut up to 30,000 operational roles in 2026, adding to last year’s job reductions as the delivery giant looks to accelerate a turnaround fueled by a pivot to higher-margin shipments.
The company also beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly results in the all-important holiday period and forecast a surprise rise in annual revenue.
UPS in January last year said it would accelerate a plan to slash millions of low-profit deliveries for Amazon, its largest customer and a growing delivery rival, calling the business “extraordinarily dilutive” to margins.
The workforce reduction will “be accomplished through attrition and we expect to offer a second voluntary separation program for full-time drivers”, chief financial officer Brian Dykes said on a post-earnings call.
The company’s shares were down 1% in premarket trading.
UPS is also looking to rebuild its profitability and stabilize volumes following the end of US duty-free, “de minimis” low-value, e-commerce shipments.
The company has cut 48,000 jobs, launched driver buyouts, and closed operations at 93 facilities in 2025 as it targets about $3bn in savings in 2026.
UPS recorded a non-cash, after-tax charge of $137m related to writing off the MD-11 fleet following a deadly November crash. UPS said it completed the retirement of the fleet in the fourth quarter.
The company projected 2026 revenue to be $89.7bn, compared with the $88.7bn it reported last year. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $87.94bn, according to data compiled by LSEG.
