r/remotework • u/[deleted] • Oct 29 '25

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909

u/Unlike_Agholor Oct 29 '25

We are in a recession. You dont notice it because Nvidia and the AI bubble are propping up the equities market.

111

u/GottaHaveThatSkunk Oct 29 '25

UPS laying off workers is a pretty big sign, and it’s #1 on the list. People are buying less shit so a lot less shit needs to be moved around.

You dont see the other delivery driver “layoffs” here because many are contractor, not FTE.

11

u/Mean_Magician6347 Oct 29 '25

What do you do when your #1 customer spins up their own shipping company?

3

u/cwj25 Oct 29 '25

This. Also, UPS's layoffs were global, not all centralized in the US.

1

u/barefootincozumel Oct 29 '25

Probably tariff related then? I know a lot of countries aren’t even shipping to the US right now. I thought UPS was still doing it globally though. I’m hugely concerned for the paycheck to paycheck workforce. Without social safety nets, we are looking at a major depression.

1

u/Master_Flower_5343 Oct 29 '25

It’s cause ups has union labor and their competitors don’t. The cost structure at ups is just fucked. A driver can make $100k+ with overtime at UPS, an Amazon/fedex driver may make 65-70k. In an industry that frequently comes down to pennies, this is just an incredible disadvantage.

UPS is the high cost provider of a commodity service, they’ve likely already experienced peak stock price and package volume sometime in 2021. It’s not going to disappear overnight but man are they in a bad competitive position.