UPS' planned building closures in 2026 will impact 22 facilities with International Brotherhood of Teamsters union members across 18 states, according to court documents filed Friday.
Buildings in Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas and Baltimore are among those "with bargaining unit employees" slated for closure this year, said Daniel Bordoni, UPS' president of global labor relations and deputy general counsel of labor, in a Jan. 30 letter to Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien.
UPS plans to close 22 Teamsters-staffed locations
UPS included the letter in a filing with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, which is overseeing an ongoing case between the delivery giant and the Teamsters over UPS' planned driver buyout program.
The number of employees affected by the 22 building closures specifically wasn't detailed in Bordoni's letter. Applicable local unions have been notified of the closures and informed of the expected impacts, he said, adding that no additional closures are planned currently.
The buildings are slated to be axed as UPS shrinks its U.S. network's footprint to adjust to reduced package volume from Amazon, a major customer. Additionally, UPS is starting to hand off Ground Saver packages to the U.S. Postal Service for final-mile delivery after a renewal of their previous arrangement. Both factors are "expected to impact substantially all domestic UPS centers and routes in some manner," according to Bordoni.
In 2026, UPS plans to cut up to 30,000 operational positions and close 24 buildings in the year's first half as a result of its network rightsizing efforts, EVP and CFO Brian Dykes said in January. Dykes also noted plans to launch a voluntary driver buyout program, following in the footsteps of a similar separation program months earlier.
However, UPS' plans to offer more driver buyouts hit a roadblock last week, when the Teamsters filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order on the program. The Teamsters said the buyouts would violate its labor contract with UPS and is seeking an injunction to block the buyouts. UPS has asked the court to deny the request in a filing Friday, noting that "the Court lacks jurisdiction to issue an injunction in these circumstances."
About 80% of UPS' roughly 370,000 U.S. employees are represented by the Teamsters, and approximately 105,000 drivers would be eligible for the buyout under the Driver Choice Program, per a court filing. Prior to the Teamsters' lawsuit, Bordoni said eligible employees would be able to apply for the $150,000 voluntary severance package from Feb. 13 to March 12.
The offer window would allow UPS to process employee resignations in April and enable "operational alignments thereafter to avoid disruption prior to the summer vacation season and well in advance of the holiday-driven peak season," said Michael Clayton, UPS corporate VP of labor relations, in a Feb. 13 court filing.
As the court weighs the Teamsters' injunction request, it is unclear when, or if, the Driver Choice Program will commence as planned. Clayton said a delayed implementation of the plan may lead UPS to rely more on attrition or involuntary layoffs.
"Following arbitration, the DCP may no longer be practical or relevant for UPS due to the passage of time and/or staffing reductions through other means," Clayton said.
