UPS to cut 433 staff in Kentucky after losing retail account

UPS is downsizing its retail supply chain logistics facility Hebron, Kentucky, after the facility’s biggest customer, Zulily, decided to take its inventory management and fulfillment services back in-house. The company confirmed today that 433 jobs would be lost at the site, close to Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport and also not far from the UPS Worldport hub at Louisville, Kentucky, where UPS completed a billion-dollar expansion last year.

Staff and state officials were told about the job losses last week, which are set to include some management-level positions and 100 of those roles were temporary limited-term roles.

The cutbacks are expected to begin from about mid-March to April.

UPS spokesperson Susan Rosenberg told Post&Parcel that the Hebron facility was one of its retail sector supply chain logistics campuses, and that around 150 staff would remain there working on other customer accounts.

Rosenberg said the decision by Seattle-based mother-and-baby e-commerce specialist Zulily to take its order processing and fulfilment operations back in-house was not part of a trend, that e-commerce business remains strong and that UPS would seek other customers to replace the lost account.

“It happens,” she said. “Certainly we have a great relationship with the customer, and will continue to provide transportation services to the company. The are just looking at taking their business strategy in a different direction.”