UPS is allocating over $2 billion towards international operations, healthcare, and supply chain enhancements.

      UPS has informed CNBC that it is investing over $2 billion in its international, healthcare, and supply chain divisions, with this expenditure beginning in 2024 and continuing until 2028. Last year, the company eliminated roughly 48,000 positions and announced in January that an additional 30,000 roles would be cut.

      UPS has publicly quantified an investment it had previously been undertaking quietly. The company states it is dedicating more than $2 billion to its international, healthcare, and supply chain sectors, an initiative commencing in 2024 and extending to 2028, which had not been previously disclosed.

      This figure coincided with some unusual company actions. In 2025, UPS reduced its workforce by around 48,000 and indicated in January that it would eliminate another 30,000 operational roles this year.

      The company also closed 93 facilities in 2025 and plans to shut down another twenty in the first half of 2026.

      One key customer illustrates a significant aspect of this shift. UPS is intentionally reducing its Amazon volume by half over an 18-month period, which amounts to about a million packages daily, aiming for savings of around $3 billion from this withdrawal.

      Therefore, the $2 billion investment is not truly for expansion. Instead, it represents capital moving away from a domestic parcel network towards specialized freight, brokerage, and temperature-controlled logistics.

      CEO Carol Tomé has made the rationale clear. The cost per package in automated facilities is 28% lower than in traditional ones, aligning with the trend of warehouse robotics in Europe.

      The projects are extensive. This year, a hub is set to open in the Philippines, with a facility in Ontario following next year, an air hub at Hong Kong International slated for 2028, and a logistics center in Taiwan where automation has reduced total supply chain time by a day.

      Europe is viewed more as a node than a destination. UPS has launched a facility in Amsterdam that integrates freight, brokerage, and cold chain logistics, and now operates five flights weekly from Paris to Hong Kong.

      Healthcare presents the most significant profit margins. Recently, the company invested $48 million in 27 temperature-controlled facilities, partly to handle temperature-sensitive drugs including GLP-1 medications.

      Similarly, Europe's logistics giant DHL is adopting a comparable strategy. It plans to cut 8,000 postal jobs in Germany to save approximately €1 billion by 2027 while expanding its health logistics operations, as Decathlon increases its output using robots across seven European locations.

      The underlying trend tells the story. Two of the world's largest logistics companies are downsizing their networks for consumer parcels and transitioning towards refrigerated pharmaceuticals and automation.