A Massive Delivery Company Now Plans Unexpected Layoffs For 2024

January 3, 2024

A massive delivery company now plans unexpected layoffs for 2024 as it seeks to reduce sorting operations at a major U.S. hub.

UPS plans to lay off an undisclosed number of employees as it shutters a package sortation shift at its Centennial ground hub in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 16.

“In our industry, packages equal jobs, and we need to match capacity and the number of jobs with current package volume,” the company said in an emailed statement.

The company grappled with declines in package volume over the past several quarters and is attempting to win back volume that it lost during contract negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the summer, reports SupplyChainDive.

The closure of the facility’s day sort affects any employee assigned to those operations, although some impacted workers will have the opportunity to move to other positions, a UPS spokesperson said Tuesday.

UPS disclosed the layoff plans less than a month after the Teamsters said the company laid off about 35 specialist and administrative workers at the hub.

UPS quickly reinstated the affected employees after the union threatened to strike over the layoffs, which impacted workers that recently organized with the Teamsters.

Teamsters Local 89, which represents more than 2,000 UPS workers at the hub, said in a statement Friday that it has meetings scheduled with the company to gather more details about the impending closure of the hub’s day sort.

Since that shift “is a relatively small operation,” most of its volume can likely be absorbed into other existing sorts, the union said.

“With [the hub’s] natural turnover rate, as well as the likelihood of the work being moved to the larger sorts, Local 89 does not anticipate a massive impact on our membership beyond shift and schedule changes,” the union said.

Also Read: A US Company Now Declares An Unexpected Bankruptcy

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A massive shoe company now plans to cut a whopping $8bn in costs leading to talks of continued layoffs across the retail industry.

Nike has laid out a plan to cut up to $2 billion in costs over the next three years in a bid to “accelerate future growth while building a faster, more efficient” organization, executives shared during the company’s fiscal 2024 Q2 earnings call.

The company plans to trim expenses in ways including simplifying its product assortment, increasing automation and use of technology, and leveraging its scale to drive greater efficiencies across the business, although no details on the form these initiatives will take were shared, reports RetailTouchPoints.

“An organizational and fiscal restructuring is also in the cards.”

Specific details on workforce cuts were not shared, but earlier in December The Oregonian reported that Nike had already begun quietly laying off some employees, and executives did note that they expected to incur restructuring charges of approximately $400 million to $450 million in the company’s current quarter, primarily associated with employee severance costs.

A leadership revamp is also in the works, with new C-suite appointments in the company’s design, innovation, marketing and tech divisions announced in November 2023.

As part of these shifts, Nike cut its revenue outlook for fiscal 2024, saying that it now expects full-year revenue to grow approximately 1%, compared to a prior outlook of growth in the mid-single digits.

“This new outlook reflects increased macro headwinds, particularly in Greater China and EMEA,” explained EVP and CFO Matthew Friend said on the earnings call.

“Adjusted digital growth plans are based on recent digital traffic softness and higher marketplace promotions, lifecycle management of key product franchises and a stronger U.S. dollar that has negatively impacted second-half reported revenue versus 90 days ago.”

In the company’s second quarter, which ended Nov. 30, 2023, Nike saw total revenues increase 1% to $13.4 billion, but this reflects a decrease of 1% year-over-year when taken on a currency-neutral basis.

Direct sales revenues were up 4% on a currency-neutral basis to $5.7 billion, while digital sales increased 1% year-over-year (currency-neutral).

However, currency-neutral wholesale revenues were down 3% to $7.1 billion, reflecting the continued impact of Nike’s DTC pivot and subsequent reversal.

Also Read: Wells Fargo Now Warns of Massive Layoffs For 2024

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