LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For the first time in more than a decade, United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is seeking to cull airline pilots from its payroll, the latest response to the shipping giant's declining package volume.
UPS aims to entice 167 senior pilots, including 157 captains and 10 first officers, to retire early, according to an offer that was disclosed to pilots this week.
The company confirmed that it's offering "a voluntary separation benefit to eligible UPS pilots."
"At UPS, we regularly assess our operations and make adjustments to better serve our customers," UPS said in an emailed statement.
The offer includes "a comprehensive compensation package that includes cash and healthcare benefits," UPS said, without elaborating.
The move marks the first time since 2010 — when UPS furloughed 109 pilots — that the Atlanta-based company has sought to trim its pilot workforce.
About 3,400 pilots fly for UPS, usually after long stints in the military or other cargo airlines. They face a mandatory retirement age of 65, according to federal law.
It wasn't immediately clear how many of 3,400 pilots are eligible to accept UPS' early retirement package.
UPS spokeswoman Laura Holmberg declined to quantify the company's pilot workforce, nor how many pilots UPS hopes to entice into retirement.
Brian Gaudet, a spokesman for the UPS pilots' union, the Independent Pilot Association, acknowledged that the company had made voluntary retirement offers to the workforce but declined to comment further.
UPS handled 9.4% fewer packages across its network in the April-June quarter than in the same period in 2022, the company reported earlier this month.
The decline was more pronounced — 12% — in domestic packages traveling via plane as part of the company's Next Day Air service.
The company's total revenue of $22 billion was down by nearly 11% from the same time a year earlier.
Holmberg said the move to trim pilots is "definitely volume driven."
"It's to keep up with changing demand," she said.
UPS' chief rival, FedEx, is also dealing with an excess of pilots amid subdued volume and a corporate restructuring, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.
The Journal cited a July letter in which a FedEx executive said the delivery company had 700 pilots too many out of a total of about 5,800.
Some FedEx pilots have noticed fewer hours and are concerned about a potential furlough, the Journal reported.
