ATLANTA — Shipping giant UPS Inc. will cut 1,800 management and administrative jobs, less than 1 percent of its global work force, as it repositions itself for a gradual economic recovery with improved technology and fewer employees.
About 1,100 employees will be offered a voluntary separation package as part of the work force reduction, which is meant to streamline the company’s U.S. small-package segment. Other cuts will come through attrition and layoffs. The U.S. small-package segment represents roughly 60 percent of UPS’s annual revenue. It handles shipments of up to 150 pounds by ground and air.
Atlanta-based UPS, has 408,000 employees worldwide. About 340,000 of those workers are in the U.S.
UPS also raised its profit forecast for the quarter that ended in December, citing improving operations and cost cuts.
UPS will reduce its U.S. regions from five to three and its U.S. districts from 46 to 20 in April. There are no plans to close any operating facilities. UPS said the consolidation of offices will not affect the sales and operations team, including drivers.
UPS expects to incur a one-time charge in 2010 because of the restructuring.
Spokesman Norman Black said UPS now has the technology and management systems to oversee a much larger geographic area than before. So, it is consolidating district offices. Thanks to systems like package-flow technology with real-time information on every package destined for a particular city, one management team can oversee the work in many cities.
The same thing goes for UPS’s human resources systems and workforce planning. More sophisticated computer operations allow UPS to more easily figure how many people it needs to sort packages in multiple locations, Black said.
UPS will change office staffing in its new, larger districts to strengthen marketing and sales efforts.
UPS also said it now expects to post earnings of 73 cents to 75 cents per share for the October to December quarter.
