UPS temporarily lays off nearly 140 part-time workers in Minneapolis

UPS is temporarily laying off 138 part-time workers at a Minneapolis facility beginning in April.

The package delivery company is shutting down what it calls its “Minneapolis Day Sort” operation, located at 3312 Broadway St. NE., beginning April 13.

“We are reducing the package sorting operations at a few UPS facilities including our Minneapolis hub,” said Jim Mayer, a UPS spokesman, in a statement.

In a letter made public Thursday, the company, which is headquartered in Atlanta, informed the Minnesota Department of Employment and Development that the staff reduction was due to “changes in our network.”

“This sort closure is expected to be temporary,” a company representative wrote.

But the letter did not say how long the closure would last.

The changes will not close the entire facility and will only affect one of the “sorts,” or shifts at the building where package sorting takes place, a UPS spokesman said Thursday night in an email.

Mayer said UPS is working to place as many employees as possible in other positions.

Some of the workers impacted are members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 638.

The shipping giant has seen its shares take a nosedive since it announced late last month it would lower its volume of deliveries for Amazon, its largest customer, by more than half by late 2026. The company also said it was reconfiguring its U.S. network as it tries to become a more profitable and differentiated company.