UPS is cutting 20,000 jobs. It’s not what you think

UPS will cut 20,000 jobs this year, about 4% of its global workforce, the company said Tuesday. But UPS added the decision is unrelated to tariffs and is instead due to increased use of technology and a previously announced plan to trim its Amazon business.

UPS will cut 20,000 jobs this year, about 4% of its global workforce, the company said Tuesday. But UPS added the decision is unrelated to tariffs and is instead due to increased use of technology and a previously announced plan to trim its Amazon business. UPS in January announced a “glide down” plan to cut its business with Amazon, its largest customer, in half by the middle of 2026. UPS CEO Carol Tome said Tuesday that most of the Amazon business that it is giving up is “not profitable for us, nor a healthy fit for our network.” The UPS package volume from Amazon was already down 16% in the just-completed quarter, which was a bigger drop than UPS had forecast for the period. UPS said it will close 73 US buildings by the end of June as the next part of that “glide down” plan. UPS also said it expects to use more automation in its facilities, from sorting packages to label application to loading and unloading trucks, with 400 facilities becoming partly if not fully automated. “With this reconfiguration, we will also lessen our dependency on labor,” she said. UPS did see some effects from Trump’s broad tariffs of 10% on most imports, though, especially the 145% tariffs on Chinese imports. But the company is still uncertain about the ultimate effects.