The United Parcel Service (UPS) said on Thursday that it is offering buyouts to full-time U.S. delivery drivers as part of the company’s “largest network reconfiguration” ever.
“As we navigate an unprecedented business landscape, we are executing the largest network reconfiguration in UPS history,” the Atlanta-based company said in a statement.
“For the first time ever, in recognition of these unique circumstances, we are looking to offer our full-time U.S. drivers the opportunity to participate in a voluntary program that would provide an opportunity to receive a generous financial package if they choose to leave UPS,” the company added.
The financial package that will be available to the drivers will be in addition to “any earned retirement benefits, including pension and healthcare,” according to UPS.
The company added that each driver “would have the ability to decide if this voluntary program is beneficial to their family and the plans they have for their future.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said UPS’s buyout plan is “an illegal violation” of the contract the union struck with the company that undercuts its agreement to create 22,500 more jobs.
“UPS is trying to weasel its way out of creating good union jobs here in America by dangling insulting buyouts in front of Teamsters drivers,” O’Brien said in a statement on Thursday.
UPS said on Thursday that it had approached the union regarding the buyouts and that the company remains “committed to the agreements we reached in 2023, as part of our contract negotiations.”
UPS said in late April that it would cut around 20,000 jobs this year as part of a plan to lower costs and improve efficiency. In August 2023, UPS offered buyouts to pilots as demand dropped.
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