UPS plans to cut 62 jobs at its Dallas facility as part of what the company calls the largest network reconfiguration in its history.
An update to the Texas Workforce Commission’s WARN database shows the company notified the agency on August 6 of plans to eliminate the positions, effective August 5. A UPS spokeswoman said the move is tied to the planned end of its “Day Sort” shift at the 10155 Monroe Drive facility on October 5.
“As announced on our Q1 earnings call, we are executing the largest network reconfiguration in UPS history,” UPS Spokeswoman Karen Tomaszewski Hill said in a statement to The Dallas Express. “This strategic initiative will optimize the capacity of our network to align with expected volume levels and enhance productivity through additional automation. The reconfiguration will impact positions, and we are committed to supporting our employees throughout this process.”
Hill emphasized that “the entire facility is not closing” and that the “sort” referenced is a single shift during which package sorting takes place. “Our employees are extremely important to us, and we understand the impact this may have on them and their families. We are working to place as many employees as possible in other positions,” she explained.
Neither Dallas Teamsters organization (Local 745 and Local 767) has publicly addressed the layoffs on their Facebook channels. The new cuts come as UPS faces escalating criticism from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters over its recently announced Driver Voluntary Severance Plan. Union leaders claim the plan violates the national contract covering roughly 340,000 workers.
“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. It is an illegal violation of our national contract,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a July 3 statement.
Under the buyout program, reported by Supply Chain Dive, UPS is offering $1,800 per year of service, with a $10,000 minimum payout, to eligible delivery drivers. The Teamsters said in a press release that the plan was not negotiated with the union and could undermine contract provisions requiring UPS to fill at least 22,500 full-time jobs with existing part-time workers. The union has urged drivers to reject the offers.
FreightWaves has reported that the buyouts are part of UPS’s “Network of the Future” strategy, which includes closing 200 domestic sortation centers, expanding automation, and consolidating package volume in fewer facilities. The company has also announced plans to cut 20,000 front-line positions and reduce its business with Amazon by half.
In Dallas, UPS has previously carried out job cuts tied to declining package volumes and higher labor costs. In September 2023, Sourcing Journal reported that the company eliminated management positions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with some employees given the choice of severance or demotion. Company executives reportedly told investors in August 2023 that they had cut 2,500 management jobs and more than 1,700 operations roles compared to the prior year.
The layoffs come amid broader changes in the shipping industry. Earlier this summer, employees at certain FedEx facilities also received layoff notices, per CRE Daily.
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires most employers with 100 or more full-time workers to provide at least 60 days’ written notice of certain plant closings or mass layoffs, according to a U.S. Department of Labor FAQ.