January 27, 2026 — UPS announced on January 27, 2026 that it plans to cut up to 30,000 operational positions in 2026 as it restructures its U.S. network and reduces low-margin package volume linked to Amazon.
The company tied the cuts to a cost-saving push aimed at targeted $3 billion savings in 2026, along with planned facility closures and automation upgrades across its operations.
UPS said it expects the reductions to come through attrition and a voluntary driver buyout program, rather than relying only on involuntary layoffs.
Executive Vice President and CFO Brian Dykes said during the fourth-quarter earnings call that the cuts target operational roles, including full-time drivers, as UPS closes 24 facilities in the first half of 2026 and evaluates more closures later.
The announcement marked the latest stage in a multi-year shift away from high-volume deliveries that UPS linked to lower profit margins, as the company redirects attention to more profitable logistics work such as healthcare and business-to-business services.
UPS framed the move as part of unwinding its longtime logistics relationship with Amazon, a high-volume customer that the company said brought lower margins than other parts of its business.
The planned job cuts follow roughly 48,000 total job cuts in 2025, a figure that included 15,000 fewer seasonal jobs and a completed driver buyout program.
UPS also said it expects to cut approximately 25 million operational hours tied to declining Amazon volume, underscoring how changes in package mix can reshape day-to-day staffing needs in delivery, sorting, and warehouse handling.
Amazon previously accounted for 12% of UPS revenue, according to the details provided alongside the announcement, as UPS described a strategy aimed at reducing reliance on business it sees as less profitable.
In 2025, UPS said it reduced Amazon volume by 1 million pieces per day, and it said another 1 million pieces-per-day reduction is planned for 2026, described as a 50% total cut.
UPS paired those volume reductions with network changes that include 24 targeted facility closures in the first half of 2026, after it closed 93 facilities in 2025.
The company said it plans additional network automation enhancements as it tries to operate a “more agile network,” with cost pressures expected to ease in the first half of 2026.
UPS also cited a new U.S. Postal Service Ground Saver deal that hands off final-mile deliveries for better economics, with ramp-up underway.
Management positioned the operational pivot alongside its performance and outlook, saying the shift supports the company’s forecast and longer-term business mix, while also reshaping how work gets allocated across its network.
UPS reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and a positive revenue forecast for 2026, and it said stock prices rose in response to the results and outlook.
Even as UPS pointed to an improved outlook, the company said fourth-quarter domestic revenue fell 3.2% year-over-year due to volume decline, reflecting the trade-offs involved in stepping back from work tied to Amazon.
Chief Executive Officer Carol Tomé highlighted improved service and economics, according to the summary of the earnings call, as UPS described the pivot as a long-term effort rather than a short-term cutback.
Labor leaders responded by emphasizing contract compliance as UPS moves through attrition and buyouts, alongside facility closures and automation.
“We are fully supportive of UPS achieving growth and cost reductions through corporate management, provided they honor their contractual obligations to our members and adequately compensate the Teamsters.”
The Teamsters union said the quote above in response to the announcement.
For many workers, the announcement signaled pressure on jobs tied most closely to high-volume package handling, including roles in fulfillment, delivery, warehouse operations, and sortation that rise and fall with network throughput.
UPS said the planned reductions focus on operational positions, a broad category that includes the frontline jobs that move packages through hubs, facilities, and delivery routes each day.
The cuts also highlighted how UPS’s strategic mix can change the profile of opportunity in logistics, as the company prioritizes higher-margin services and reduces dependence on large-volume, low-margin business.
UPS’s emphasis on healthcare logistics and B2B services points toward work that can require different capabilities, including tighter compliance, more specialized handling, and more complex customer requirements than standard residential delivery.
Automation and efficiency, which UPS described as ongoing drivers of its network changes, can also redesign operational roles, reducing hours in some functions while increasing demand for workers who can run and maintain automated systems.
For the broader logistics job market, the UPS move adds to signals that carriers are putting margin discipline ahead of raw volume, especially when contracts bring “razor-thin margins,” as the company’s announcement characterized some high-volume arrangements.
UPS linked the scale of planned changes to its effort to become less manpower-intensive in areas where it sees less profitability, while still trying to maintain service improvements and stronger economics.
The announcement also carried implications for international jobseekers who often look to large employers for predictable entry points into U.S. operations work, even when sponsorship is not part of the role.
UPS’s own description of the shift suggested that entry-level operations hiring could tighten as facilities close and operational hours fall, particularly in networks built around high-volume package flow.
At the same time, UPS and the broader sector’s focus on automation, data-driven operations, and specialized logistics can strengthen demand for roles that blend technology with supply chain execution, including analytics, robotics, and industrial engineering functions.
The company’s update also matters for visa holders and international students because operational jobs “rarely sponsor H-1B visas,” while restructuring can concentrate opportunity in technical, analytics, and automation-related positions that may align more closely with specialized requirements.
UPS’s changes also matter for dependents with Employment Authorization Documents, who often work in a wide range of operational roles across large employers and can feel the effects of facility closures and staffing reductions even without sponsorship considerations.
International students on OPT, including STEM-OPT participants, may watch where UPS and similar employers expand tech-integrated logistics work, as the company described growth areas in technology, robotics, data analytics, and healthcare logistics rather than traditional delivery driver roles.
For NRIs and other global candidates considering relocation or remote opportunities tied to logistics and technology, UPS’s move added another example of restructuring at a large workforce employer, with “automation and efficiency taking precedence over manpower intensity,” as the company’s announcement described the direction.
Across the industry, UPS’s announcement reflected broader trends the company described as technology-driven job transformation, a move away from low-margin contracts, and a push into services with stronger profitability and more predictable operations.
In that context, job openings can shift toward healthcare logistics, supply chain technology, and analytics work, even as day-to-day operational roles face pressure from facility closures, reduced package volume, and redesigned workflows.
Workers tracking the UPS changes may focus on where the company maintains demand, including higher-value logistics services and technology-linked roles that support network automation enhancements and more complex B2B fulfillment.
UPS’s 2026 plan also adds practical near-term markers for employees: the pace of attrition and uptake of the voluntary driver buyout program, which UPS said will drive reductions alongside network changes.
Facility decisions, including the 24 targeted closures in the first half of 2026 and the company’s openness to evaluating more closures later, can also shape where jobs remain concentrated and where staffing shrinks.
UPS’s bottom-line direction remains a leaner operational footprint and a different mix of work, as it reduces capacity tied to Amazon-linked volume and prioritizes efficiency, automation, and margin improvement.
The company laid out the pivot on January 27, 2026, when it said up to 30,000 operational positions could be eliminated in 2026, 24 facilities are targeted for closure in the first half of 2026, and it aims for targeted $3 billion savings in 2026.
By the numbers, UPS said the plan includes up to 30,000 operational job cuts in 2026, after roughly 48,000 total job cuts in 2025, and it includes 24 targeted facility closures in the first half of 2026 following 93 closures in 2025.
UPS linked the staffing reductions to volume and margin strategy, including an additional 1 million pieces-per-day reduction in Amazon volume planned for 2026 after a 1 million pieces-per-day reduction in 2025, alongside plans to cut approximately 25 million operational hours.
The scale of the announcement—UPS, 30,000 jobs, and a $3 billion savings target—put workers, jobseekers, and international candidates on notice that the company wants a smaller network built around higher-margin logistics.
UPS Cuts Up to 30,000 Jobs in January 27, 2026 Restructuring Move
UPS is cutting 30,000 jobs in 2026 as part of a $3 billion cost-saving initiative. The strategy involves closing 24 facilities and drastically reducing its reliance on low-margin Amazon deliveries. By prioritizing healthcare and B2B logistics over high-volume residential shipping, UPS aims for a leaner, more profitable network. The company will utilize attrition, buyouts, and increased automation to manage the workforce transition during this multi-year operational pivot.
