Forbes Medias Steve Forbes joins The Big Money Show panel to talk the international implications of rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
United Parcel Service (UPS) said Tuesday that it will cut about 20,000 jobs and shutter 73 of its facilities as the logistics giant cuts costs amid a potential pullback by its largest customer, Amazon, and broader economic uncertainty.
The move, which amounts to a cut of about 4% of the company’s workforce, makes UPS the first big American company to move forward with large-scale layoffs in the face of slowing trade due to the Trump administration’s tariffs.
A slowdown in global trade is likely to reduce the need for shipping services between companies, potentially hurting parcel delivery firms.
“The world has not been faced with such enormous potential impacts to trade in more than 100 years,” CEO Carol Tome said during the company’s earnings call.
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UPS is reducing its workforce by about 20,000, or 4%, amid the economic uncertainty and its changing business with Amazon. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
It also comes after UPS announced in January that it reached an agreement with its largest customer, Amazon, to cut its volume by 50% by the second half of 2026. Amazon accounted for 11.8% of UPS’ overall revenue in 2024.
“The actions we are taking to reconfigure our network and reduce cost across our business could not be timelier,” Tome said.
Ticker Security Last Change Change % UPS UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. 97.09 -0.82
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AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 186.18 -1.52
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Last year, UPS said it would cut its workforce by 12,000 jobs, and added that it expects expenses of between $400 million and $600 million related to separation benefits and lease-related cuts in 2025.
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The two companies are reducing the number of shipments from Amazon handled by UPS. (Xavi Lopez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
UPS also faces a sharp downturn in volume from China-linked bargain e-commerce sellers Temu and Shein after the U.S. moved to collect tariffs on goods that were previously duty-free under a threshold of $800 per individual sale.
To help keep its customers updated about tariffs and trade policy changes, UPS launched a website that tracks various developments in negotiations as well as offers the ability to connect with experts and explore options to manage tariff costs.
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UPS is also offering a new UPS Global Checkout service that shows the cost of customs fees and duties on international purchases at checkout.
Reuters contributed to this report.
