WARWICK – The United Parcel Service Inc. is facing questions from employees over its plans to layoff 130 workers in Warwick.
UPS filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Feb. 1 indicating that layoffs are set to take effect April 2 and affect members of Teamsters Local 251, the union representing truck drivers. The federal notification law requires companies to alert the DLT before laying off a significant number of workers.
The layoffs are related to the company’s plans to reduce packing and sorting activities in Warwick and other UPS facilities, said Jim Mayer, UPS senior director of media relations. More specifically, UPS will close its day sort operations in Warwick effective April 2. The closure is related to volume demands and there are multiple sorts in each facility including day, twilight and night, Mayer said.
“We often evaluate our operations and flex our network to meet volume demands,” Mayer said, adding UPS will offer support for affected employees. “This allows us to continue delivering industry-leading service while also maintaining competitive prices."
Matthew Taibi, principal officer of Teamsters Local 251, said UPS notified workers in early January of a “relatively small” reduction of Warwick operations that may affect some employees. Following this notice, Taibi said the union met with UPS and then received a “bizarre” letter Feb. 2 in which UPS listed employees it planned “permanent separation” with.
Taibi says the union wasn’t sure exactly what “permanent separation” means, but the employees listed in the letter were not accurate based on seniority and recall rights.
After questioning UPS about the letter, Taibi says the union was told they would receive an amended list of employees, which has yet to come.
As a result, Taibi says the union filed a grievance with UPS on Feb. 9 stating the company violated the Change of Operations article, which relates to layoffs, in its national agreement that was reached in September 2023. Also, the local union filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the National Labor Relations Board on Feb. 12 for the company’s failure to bargain with the union and provide information.
“We value the strong collective bargaining agreement the Teamsters have with UPS nationally and regionally, and are diligently enforcing its terms to protect our members,” Taibi said.
Mayer said the company plans to support affected employees.
"Our employees are extremely important to us, and we understand the impact this may have on their families," Mayer said. "We will work with those who may be impacted throughout the process to provide support."
While UPS announced it is cutting 12,000 jobs companywide earlier this year, Mayer said those reductions affect non-union represented positions and are unrelated to the layoffs in Warwick. It was not immediately clear how many of the 12,000 job cuts affect Rhode Island employees.
The layoffs come just months after Teamsters approved a tentative contract agreement with UPS in September 2023, putting an end to heated labor negotiations, according to The Associated Press.
The agreement covers approximately 340,000 UPS workers in the U.S. and drivers will earn an average of $170,000 in annual pay and benefits by the end of the five-year contract, CBS News reported. The agreement also includes the 7,500 new full-time jobs and filling 22,500 open positions, which would allow more part-time workers to transition to full-time, The Associated Press reported.
As the company’s revenue has taken a hit recently, UPS CEO Carol Tome said UPS will save $1 billion through job cuts during a January conference call, The Associated Press reported. UPS expects its 2024 revenue to fall in the range of around $92 billion to $94.5 billion, which is below Wall Street’s projections for more than $95.5 billion.
Also, the company’s fourth quarter 2023 revenue fell by 7.8% to $24.92 billion, short of Wall Street’s expectations of $25.31 billion, according to a poll of analysts by FactSet. Profits for the quarter declined more than half to $1.61 billion, down from $3.45 billion, The Associated Press reported.
(UPDATE: Adds comments from union principal officer in 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th paragraphs, addiional comment from UPS in 10th and 11th paragraphs.)
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com
