Major Shipping Company in Maine & New Hampshire Laying Off 20,000

In a pretty shocking move, a company that we know and love for delivering not only our packages but also and wearing the most iconic brown uniforms in fashion history are making headlines.

UPS has announced plans to lay off 20,000 employees across the country, according to Shreveport Times.

This is part of a cost-cutting situation and the decision is coming as this shipping giant wants to lower delivery volume mostly from Amazon, one of it’s largest clients.

UPS is huge and operates in over 200 countries with almost 490,000, is scaling back by 4% of it’s global workforce.

What does this mean for Maine and New Hampshire?

While the exact number of layoffs in Maine and New Hampshire have not been confirmed, the impact will be felt throughout the entire region. UPS will close 73 stores by the end of June, as per the report.

But here's where things get sticky

UPS has a contract with the Teamsters union. That contract requires them to maintain 30,000 Teamster jobs.

And according to the Teamsters General President, the company can still reduce it’s workforce without breaking the agreement, so long as it is not directly affecting those positions that are guaranteed.

This whole situation brings a lot of uncertainty for employees in Maine and New Hampshire.

As we all know, UPS has been a major employer in New England. Any downsizing could really create a ripple effect through more local towns.

Customers should also expect changes as well, because of the reduced volume from Amazon will mean less trucks on the road which may result in slower deliveries.

Even though they are having layoffs, UPS continues to deliver 22.4 million packages every day, as per the report.