Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

TNT suspends workplace talks with unions

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

TNT NV has confirmed a statement from trade union Abvakabo FNV that it has suspended talks with Dutch trade unions over a new collective labour agreement (CAO).

TNT spokesman Pieter Schaffels said talks have been suspended for a couple of days and the matter is now being discussed at a board of management level.

Abvakabo spokeswoman Toos Bierhoff said unions are demanding a 3.5 pct wage rise and a new CAO from April 1, while TNT is requesting a wage freeze.

The Dutch postal company has been in talks with the unions for several months to reach an agreement on its cost-cutting programme, which targets 370 mln eur in annual savings by 2015, to be achieved partly via the 6,500-7,000 job cuts.

However, if an agreement cannot be reached with unions over savings on wages, overtime pay, pension costs and other issues, TNT said it may be forced to lay-off up to 11,000 workers to meet its targeted savings.

‘If we can agree on a wage freeze for 2.5 years and can talk about a lowering of labour conditions such as benefits, we can then keep the number of job losses restricted to 6,500-7,000,’ TNT’s Schaffels said.

He said the suspension in talks with unions is therefore ‘disappointing’.

In November, TNT and the unions extended the CAO until April 1 to allow more time to reach an agreement in the proposed savings.

Abvakabo’s Bierhoff declined to speculate about industrial action now that talks with TNT have been suspended.

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UPS reports revised results (U.S)

Posted by | Feb 29, 2008 | |

On Jan. 30, 2008, UPS reported an 8pct increase in adjusted diluted earnings per share to USD 4.17 for the full year of 2007. Following the release of this information, in completing the company’s financial statements for 2007, UPS identified a state income tax benefit of USD 65 million that was incorrectly recorded in the fourth quarter.
The tax benefit was related to UPS’s withdrawal from the Central States multi-employer pension plan. This error was discovered by the company during its regular internal review process prior to the filing of its Form 10-K for 2007. Correcting this error has reduced adjusted diluted earnings per share to USD 4.11 for the full year, a 6.5pct increase over the prior year.
The correction has no impact on revenue, operating profit (loss), income (loss) before taxes or segment results for the fourth quarter or the full year of 2007, nor does it impact cash flow or liquidity.
For the 4th quarter, UPS originally reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of USD 1.13. The revised adjusted diluted earnings per share are USD 1.07.
On an unadjusted basis, UPS previously reported a loss per diluted share of USD 2.46 for the quarter and a diluted profit per share of USD 0.42 for the full year. Those figures now are a loss of USD 2.52 per share and a profit of USD 0.36, respectively.
UPS’s previous estimates for 2008 earnings per share remain unchanged at USD 0.94-to-USD 0.98 for the first quarter and USD 4.30-to-USD 4.50 for the full year, as does the company’s estimated effective tax rate for 2008 of approximately 36pct .

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UPS opens branches across China

Posted by | Feb 28, 2008 | |

United Parcel Service Inc will enhance its ground capability in China by opening 10 more branches this year, the US express delivery giant said yesterday.

The branches will open in 10 cities, including Zhuhai, Nantong, Wuhan, Shaoxing and Weihai, this year, said Sebastian Chan, vice president of UPS China’s supply chain operations.

Now the company runs 23 branches across the country.

UPS is the first foreign express firm to operate as a wholly owned concern after it paid USD 100 million to gain total control of its Chinese operations from Chinese partner Sinotrans.

It also runs a financial unit, UPS Capital, in Shanghai to offer loans for domestic clients involved in its supply chain by cooperating with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Shenzhen Development Bank and China Merchants Bank.

The company will compete with its rivals on improving its hardware as well as technologies.

The company has invested USD 600 million in China from 2002 to 2007 to boost its capacity and infrastructure, leading to a 40-percent growth in cargo volume last year.

An air-cargo hub of UPS will be open in the fourth quarter of this year at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

The facility is designed to have a sorting capacity of 17,000 pieces an hour by 2012, and the initial investment is USD 20 million.

UPS launched a 210,000-square-meter logistic center in Beijing last June and will offer services for 19 Olympics venues.

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FedEx wins awards for work environment

Posted by | Feb 28, 2008 | |

FedEx has again been named one of the ‘Best companies to work for’ in 2008 according to rankings released by the Great Places to Work Institute. In 10 of the past 11 years FedEx has been recognized as one of the “best companies” to work for as well being consistently ranked in Fortune’s ‘Global Most Admired Companies’. The Fortune award extends the list of global accolades FedEx has received.

In Asia Pacific, FedEx was named among the top 10 “Best Employers” in China, Korea, Japan in 2007 by Hewitt Associates. Australia made the list but was just outside the top ten. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the South China Morning Post also recognized FedEx as a “Best Company for Women” at its Women of Influence Awards.

“This honour not only reflects the commitment of our employees in the U.S., but of all employees in the entire FedEx network,” said David L. Cunningham, Jr., president, FedEx Express Asia Pacific. “In Asia, we place our employees first and it is the investments in our employees that drives their dedication to make every FedEx experience outstanding for our customers and that is what differentiates us from the competition.

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Teamsters, DHL in Tentative Labor Deal

Posted by | Feb 28, 2008 | |

The Teamsters union has reached a tentative labor agreement with DHL Express, a unit of Deutsche Post, the two sides said on Wednesday.

“This agreement is truly historic,” Brad Slawson, chair of the Teamsters national negotiating committee, said in a statement. “It is the first new national master agreement negotiated in the transportation sector in decades.”

The deal will be reviewed by the Teamsters and DHL members, who will then vote on it. The Teamsters said the deal would cover thousands of DHL employees nationwide.

“”We’re pleased that the parties have reached a tentative agreement and look forward to its ratification,” said DHL spokesman Richard Gibbs.

DHL has around 20,000 employees in the United States.

The company has struggled to make headway in the U.S. market, which is dominated by United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp.

Most of the UPS work force is unionized, while only FedEx’s pilots currently have union representation.

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