Logistics major UPS cuts 34,000 jobs in year to date as its turnaround continues

Revenue totaled $21.42 billion, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of $20.84 billion

United Parcel Service posted third-quarter results that handily beat Wall Street's expectations and gave details about its turnaround efforts, including approximately 34,000 job cuts.

A UPS worker unloads packages from a truck in New York, US. (Bloomberg)

Shares surged more than 12% before the market open on Tuesday.

UPS earned $1.31 billion, or $1.55 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. The Atlanta-based company earned $1.99 billion, or $1.80 per share, a year earlier. Removing one-time costs, earnings were $1.74 per share.

That easily topped the $1.31 per share that analyst polled by Zacks Investment Research were calling for.

Revenue totaled $21.42 billion, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of $20.84 billion.

UPS said in a regulatory filing that it has cut about 34,000 positions and closed daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of this year as part of its turnaround plan. The company said that it is still looking to identify additional buildings to close.

In April UPS announced that it was looking to slash about 20,000 jobs and close more than 70 facilities as it drastically reduces the number of Amazon shipments it handles. At the time, the company said that it anticipated closing 73 leased and owned buildings by the end of June. The company noted that it was still reviewing its network and might identify more buildings to be shuttered.

During UPS’ fourth-quarter earnings conference call in January, CEO Carol Tomé said that the company had partnered with Amazon for almost 30 years and that when its contract came up this year, UPS decided to reassess the relationship.

UPS has realized cost savings of approximately $2.2 billion as of Sept. 30. It anticipates achieving $3.5 billion total year over year cost savings in 2025.