UPS continues to lay off workers as it moves forward with a strategy of consolidating parcel distribution facilities to reduce excess capacity. The latest job cuts are in Dallas, Texas, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The integrated parcel logistics company notified the Texas Workforce Commission last week that it plans to release 62 workers at its Dallas facility on Monroe Drive. Layoffs began Aug. 5.
A UPS (NYSE: UPS) spokeswoman told The Dallas Express, which first reported on the workforce reduction, that the jobs were expendable because the company is eliminating a day shift at the facility as part of a major network reconfiguration aimed at eliminating 200 sortation centers over five years and deploying automation to improve productivity.
Meanwhile, the News Journal in Wilmington is reporting that UPS will close a facility on U.S. Route 68 on Sept. 23. Spokeswoman Karen Tomaszewski Hill told the newspaper that the facility is being closed as part of the nationwide culling process because it lacks high-tech sorting systems. Packages will instead route through a more modern facility that can process more volume.
UPS expects most Wilmington employees will transfer to another nearby facility, though the company has not said which one. It’s unknown how many people are employed at the Wilmington location because UPS doesn’t release employee counts for individual facilities, the News Journal said.
The Atlanta-based courier laid off 99 workers at a facility in Charlotte in early May, according to a notice filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
In July, it disclosed plans to temporarily close a parcel sortation center in New Orleans and lay off 177 personnel.
UPS has seen volume growth stagnate for nearly two years and expects volumes to decrease as it focuses on turning away low-margin business. Company management earlier this year said the decisions to phase out half of its business with Amazon and streamline infrastructure mean it will need 20,000 fewer workers.
The moves come as UPS seeks to eliminate more jobs by offering drivers a voluntary separation package. FreightWaves reported on Saturday that UPS has given van drivers more time to make a decision because the program is undersubscribed so far.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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