DALLAS – FedEx is cutting global officer and director jobs by more than 10 per cent, the courier’s latest cost-saving step as economic concerns and waning e-commerce weigh on demand for package delivery.
The company plans to consolidate some teams and functions in addition to the headcount reduction, part of an effort to become a “more efficient, agile organisation”, chief executive Raj Subramaniam said on Wednesday in a memo to employees. The changes will align the size of the network with customer demand, he said.
“This process is critical to ensure we remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment, and it requires some difficult decisions,” Mr Subramaniam said in the memo.
The slump in parcels is industrywide, with rival United Parcel Service reporting on Jan 31 lower volumes in the United States and a forecast for declining sales in 2023.
Couriers are facing a market in which consumers have returned to shopping in stores, inflation is eating away at purchasing power and companies are sending fewer goods by airfreight now that maritime shipping rates have plummeted and supply chain delays have been corrected.
The latest cuts bring FedEx’s total employee reductions to 12,000 since June, a spokesman said. As at May, the company had 345,000 full-time workers, according to a regulatory filing.
FedEx said the job losses include “executive management”, but did not give additional details on which units would be most affected. During an analyst call in December, the company said the Express unit requires more work to improve margins.
“At Express, the team is transforming the network to be more agile, efficient and digitally led,” Mr Subramaniam said on the call. FedEx is also making changes at its Ground unit to weed out underperforming delivery contractors.
FedEex shares rose 4.3 per cent on Wednesday in New York, bringing the gain in 2023 to 17 per cent.
Since taking over as CEO from founder Fred Smith in June, Mr Subramamian has unveiled US$3.7 billion (S$4.8 billion) in cost cuts for this fiscal year in response to a rapid decline in parcel demand. The steps include worker furloughs, cutting cargo flights and parking some planes. BLOOMBERG
