UPS has made a mixed start to 2025 and expects to downsize its workforce by about 20,000 jobs this year as it adjusts to lower Amazon volumes, an uncertain economic outlook and the dramatic effects of frequent changes to US import tariffs on trade flows.
The jobs announcement, contained in a footnote to its Q1, 2025 financial results, came as the US package giant held back with any detailed forecasts for the rest of this year due to the “uncertain” macro-economic environment.
UPS already announced in January this year that it plans to reduce the delivery volumes of Amazon, its largest customer accounting for about 10% of its US volumes, by 50% within two years while also saving $1 billion in US network costs.
“Very dynamic environment”
CEO Carol Tomé commented: “I want to thank all UPSers for their hard work and efforts in this very dynamic environment. 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.”
She stressed: “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.”
Network restructuring
