Jul 3, 2025 - Business

UPS to offer buyouts to Teamsters drivers

Nathan Bomey

A delivery person beside a brown UPS truck labeled "Worldwide Services" and "Natural Gas Vehicle." The person is unloading packages onto a red trolley. The scene is set in an urban environment with a brick building and tree in the background. — A United Parcel Service driver loads packages into a truck at the New Orleans Convention Center. Photo: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

United Parcel Service plans to offer buyouts to drivers, in a move that's drawing opposition from the Teamsters union that represents them.

Why it matters: UPS has been taking steps to cut costs as it seeks greater profitability, having already announced plans to slash 20,000 positions, without specifying where the cuts would take place.

Driving the news: UPS said in a statement Thursday it is "executing the largest network reconfiguration in UPS history."

"For the first time ever, in recognition of these unique circumstances, we are looking to offer our full-time U.S. drivers the opportunity to participate in a voluntary program that would provide an opportunity to receive a generous financial package if they choose to leave UPS," the company said.
It was not immediately clear if the buyout offer would apply to all of the company's drivers.

The other side: The Teamsters slammed the plan as "illegal," with Teamsters general president Sean O'Brien calling the offer "paltry" and saying "UPS Teamsters work too damn hard to be treated with such disrespect."

"Proposed cash offers would be far less than what rank-and-file Teamsters now earn and could continue to make over the life of the current agreement," the union added.

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UPS to offer buyouts to Teamsters drivers

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