Last month during its Q4 2025 earnings call, the delivery giant United Parcel Service (UPS) announced 30,000 job reductions as part of its strategy to cut Amazon volume. Now, in less than a month, UPS is facing legal escalation from one of the largest unions across the US, demanding a halt to the company’s second driver buyout plan. 

This is also the second layoff for the company, which in October 2025 announced the elimination of 48,000 jobs, including roles in operations and management.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, also called Teamsters, which has more than 1 million active members, filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on February 9, in the US District Court of Massachusetts, aiming to halt UPS’ planned “Driver Choice Program,” which the union calls an illegal buyout scheme.

In a heated statement, Teamsters called out UPS’s callousness toward its drivers and their futures and demanded a temporary halt to this buyout.

“For the second time in six months, UPS has proven it doesn’t care about the law, has no respect for its contract with the Teamsters, and is determined to try to screw our members out of their hard-earned money,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said.

UPS is the single largest employer in the Teamsters’ union, while competitors like Amazon still remain largely non-unionized. 

UPS stock is up 19% year-to-date.

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What is the UPS Driver Choice Program?

In July 2025, UPS announced the Driver Voluntary Separation Program, its first driver buyout, offering drivers a “choice to participate in a voluntary program that supports their families and future goals.”

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As part of the program, UPS announced a $1,800 annual service award, with a minimum payout of $10,000. At the time, Teamsters expressed its anger and highlighted UPS’s inability to fulfill the terms of a 2023 five-year contract, after which it represented over 300,000 UPS employees.

The delivery giant did not provide official numbers on how many drivers accepted the buyout last year.

Now, news is circulating once again that UPS is offering a second buyout to its drivers as part of its decision to cut 30,000 jobs amid a strategic shift. UPS is calling it the Driver Choice Program and plans to roll it out this week.

Teamsters and UPS legal feud

With the Teamsters’ involvement in a lawsuit to delay the buyout, things can get tricky depending on the court’s decision. In a statement shared with TheStreet by a company spokesperson, UPS said that the legal proceedings will not affect its operations.

While the exact amount of the buyout is unknown, the union says it is broader in scope than the previous separation program. 

Unlike last time, which was aimed at drivers closer to retirement, this time it would be offered to all drivers at UPS, “regardless of service, and would do irreparable damage to the Teamsters and its right to representation.”

According to the terms, UPS would pay its drivers a fixed amount in return for waiving their right to union representation and for voluntarily leaving UPS.

Teamsters said that it has issued “more than 57 requests for information and documents” related to UPS’s revised driver buyout, but company executives ignored its requests, working in “direct violation of the UPS Teamsters agreement.” 

UPS has denied and noted this in its statement.

Teamsters also noted six violations of its National Master Agreement by UPS in this program. These include:

  • Direct dealing with workers 
  • Elimination of union jobs, despite being contractually obligated to “establish more positions.”
  • Information blockade and a lack of a “steward” to advise employees in a grievance
  • Creating irrevocable waivers that strip drivers of future union representation.

A subreddit called UPSers, with more than 148k weekly visitors, has been really abuzz, with redditors expressing mixed feelings about the program. While a few with more years under their belt are curious to take up on the offer, some are calling out the Union’s move in favor of protecting their own member count rather than for the greater good.

Meanwhile, UPS has been largely transparent about its resizing.

This is a developing story and will be updated with more information on the legal proceedings and UPS’s decisions.

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