UPS is temporarily closing several U.S. facilities to implement upgrades for its "Network of the Future" overhaul.
More than 1,600 UPS employees have or will be impacted by full and partial facility closures in Maryland, California, Colorado and Oklahoma, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices. Another shutdown is planned for an Oregon location in July, UPS said in an emailed statement to Supply Chain Dive.
UPS facilities temporarily closing
| Location | Closing date | Employees impacted |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, Maryland | Aug. 23, 2024 | 540 |
| Vernon, California | Jan. 15, 2025 | 445 |
| Commerce City, Colorado | Jan. 15, 2025 (partial closure) | 404 |
| Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Jan. 15, 2025 (partial closure) | 304 |
| Portland, Oregon | July 1, 2025 | Unspecified* |
Source: UPS, WARN notices
*No WARN notice regarding the partial closure was listed by the state of Oregon as of Tuesday afternoon.
UPS said that it plans to reopen the "enhanced facilities" in 2026, adding that it is working to find new positions for as many impacted employees as possible.
"These temporary closures won’t impact customer service, and we have plans in place to continue servicing these communities," UPS said.
Through Network of the Future, UPS aims to reduce its reliance on manual labor in the package sortation process to save costs. The company has shut down several buildings during this shift while planning various automation upgrades for new and existing facilities.
"The teams are doing an excellent job allowing us to really shrink the network and be a lot more productive," Nando Cesarone, EVP and president U.S. at UPS, said on an October earnings call.
UPS at the time processed about 63% of volume in its hubs in an automated fashion, up five percentage points from the previous year, CEO Carol Tomé said on the call.
