10km00000

UPS is a $120B company vs $60B that is FDX. FDX has twice the planes UPS has. That means UPS has waaaaaay more trucks that USPS system form has changed to and requires of.

BertMacklinFBI

I think you are correct here.

ultimately this is going to cost us pilot jobs. Plain and simple. It sucks. Whether the usps contract was profitable or not. The pilot MSL will continue to shrivel. But hey. As long as the investors are happy…..

Stan446

Yep. Pretty much follows what the USPS plans have been, cheaper way to do business.

Rock

It’s really that simple. I can only hope that people who seem to not understand that, are simply trolling.
As a company, FedEx has always focused on evolving its business model to take advantage of the NEXT market. When I had my tour of the Memphis sort facility during BI, there were dozens of rows of stair stepped seats along conveyor belts. In each seat was a person whose only job was flipping over FedEx shipping envelopes so the bar code could be read. Thousands and thousands of envelopes moving on each conveyor belt. The guy giving us the tour said each envelope was worth $15 to the company. Then e signature technology eliminated the need for what was in most of the envelopes. But we didn’t just stagnate and insist on being an overnight envelope shipping company. About the same time, we started a new business model shipping US mail during the daytime. We also realized there was a huge international market for express shipping. We closed some domestic hubs and opened overseas hubs. A massive shift from what the company was initially designed to do. Now we’re in the middle of another massive realignment. This time it’s more of a consolidation as we gather up a lot of loose ends that have been created in all the other realignments. During this realignment, our express shipping is going to decrease. Especially domestically. And now the company is looking to exploit opportunities in international markets that will make our operations look more like Atlas than old FedEx.
None of this is secret. It’s all openly published in financial presentations about where FedEx is headed. And this is going to come as a shock to some people, but FedEx doesn’t exist for the purpose of paying pilots to fly airplanes. It never has. It’s just that in the process of doing its business, it has provided a great employment opportunity for people like me. I’ve taken full advantage of it, and it has made me a wealthy man. But ultimately, it’s nothing more than my employer. If it decides to move in a direction I don’t like, I’ll find a new employer. If it decides I don’t fit into its business model anymore, it will show me the door. Either way, FedEx the company will continue to do what it has always done. Find new ways to make money in a world that changes really fast.
If people don’t understand that FedEx has grown as large as it has because of its ability to evolve in changing markets, they’re going to continue to be blindsided by things like the Postal Contract going away. They’re like the crusty old 72 captains I used to fly with who asked me why the hell I came to FedEx. Didn’t I know the market for overnight express envelopes was dying? Should have gone to Northwest or US Air. “If it wasn’t for 9/11, this company would be dead”. 🙄.

Merle Haggard

THIS^^
They need exactly the number of pilots that FDX wants rid of. I guess UPS is going to put some trucking lines in the bidpack.

Cocoloco

This is why FDX has 5500 pilots to UPS 3100. So many got hired because of the USPS contract in place. Should be happy.

JustInFacts

Ok, let's put this in perspective.

Prior to Fedex getting the USPS contract in late 2000, they started hiring 30 a month in anticipation. We had around 4000 pilots on property at the time.

Once the UPSP contract was announced, Fedex upped the hiring to 60-80 per month. They also announce the first mother of all bids which had well over 400 vacancies.

In the first 3 quarter of FY24, Fedex Express has generated $30 billion in revenue compared to the $1.73 billion in revenue for the entire USPS contract in 2023. Fedex is a $90+ billion plus company, not $60 billion. They reported earnings of $90.2 billion for FY23.

UPS had revenue of $91 billion for FY23, not $120 billion.

UPS bought early retirement for 194 pilot recently. They have also had pilots leave, just like Fedex.

UPS announced hiring of 300+ pilots and a vacancy bid of 170. How does that compare to what happened when Fedex got the USPS contract?

UPS got rid of almost 200 pilots, and now needs about 300 for the USPS contract. Does that sound like this contract is anything like what it was before?

I am happy for our UPS brethern.

I am also happy that Fedex is looking for higher margain business. They aren't here to pay pilots, they are here to make a profit. That is the best job security IMO.

plzdontfireme

Come again?

UPS annual revenue $90 billion
FedEx annual revenue $88 billion

Though I guess that's about to become $92 billion and $86 billion respectively.

plzdontfireme

The 2400 pilot difference is not solely due to the postal contract.

JackStraw

Many of us came here for the pension, the stability, the pay, and job security. All of which are being taken away by the company you fawn over as each day passes.

We’re all so glad it has worked out well for you, though.