Carol Tomé

“Under 'Network of the Future,' UPS will more than triple the number of automated buildings in its network to 400 facilities by the end of 2028 — closing roughly 200 conventional U.S. sortation facilities and driving $3 billion of costs out of the business by 2028, adding capacity with less dependence on labor.”

Target runs through 2028. Progress to date: UPS says it closed 93 buildings and deployed automation in 57 facilities in 2025 alone, with 63 major automation projects underway out of a ~$9 billion automation program.

“We expect to reduce our operational workforce by approximately 20,000 positions during 2025 and close 73 leased and owned buildings by the end of June 2025 — 'in this first phase, we will complete 164 operational closures, including 73 building closures by the end of June. And there's more to come.' The Network Reconfiguration is an expansion of Network of the Future, intended to enhance the efficiency of our network through automation and operational sort consolidation.”

UPS's Q3 2025 release stated it had reduced its operational workforce by approximately 34,000 positions and closed daily operations at 93 leased and owned buildings in the first nine months of 2025, exceeding both the 20,000-position and 73-building targets. Note that UPS attributed the reconfiguration primarily to the planned Amazon volume glide-down, with automation and sort consolidation as the Network of the Future mechanism.