UPS Announces Major Workforce Restructuring, Stock Surges on $3.5 Billion Savings Plan

UPS stock experienced a significant surge, climbing as much as 8% in a single trading session following the release of its third-quarter earnings. The dramatic rise was fueled not only by the company’s stronger-than-expected financial performance but by a sweeping corporate overhaul that includes deep workforce reductions.

In a bold strategic move, UPS confirmed it has already eliminated approximately 48,000 positions throughout the first nine months of the year, signaling a profound transformation of its operational model.

The job cuts are a central component of two key initiatives: the “Efficiency Reimagined” plan, which accounted for 34,000 operational roles, and the “Fit to Serve” plan, which eliminated 14,000 positions, the majority of which were in management.

This restructuring effort is designed to streamline the entire organization and is projected to yield substantial cost savings of $3.5 billion. For context, these cuts represent a significant portion of the global workforce that stood at 490,000 employees at the end of the previous year.

CEO Carol Tomé articulated the scale of the change to investors, stating, “UPS is executing the most significant strategic shift in our company’s history.” She further elaborated that the company’s new focus is on capturing the high-value segments of the market and serving clients with sophisticated, complex logistics requirements.

This strategic pivot is partially a response to the evolving logistics landscape, including a deliberate scaling back of its partnership with Amazon as the e-commerce giant continues to expand its own proprietary delivery network.