The Atlanta-based logistics company is one of Louisville’s largest employers, but it’s not known yet how planned cuts would affect local UPS jobs.
CEO Carol Tomé said UPS employs nearly 500,000 people globally, and that the layoffs are meant to impact full- and part-time management workers, who make up about 85,000 employees. The cuts would also include some contractors.
She said 2023 was a “difficult and disappointing” year, with UPS reporting drops in package volume, revenue and operating profits compared to 2022. UPS spokesperson Laura Holmberg said in an email that annual revenue last year dropped by more than $9 billion compared to 2022.
The plan to eliminate thousands of workers could reduce the company’s costs by about $1 billion.
“We are going to fit our organization to our strategy, and align our resources against what’s wildly important,” Tomé said about the layoffs.
UPS also reported Tuesday that it returned $7.6 billion in dividends and share buybacks to shareholders in 2023.