50 & Overs Offered Separation Deal At UPS

194 UPS employees have accepted a buyout offer being offered to “50 and older” employees with 10 or more years of service. From a UPS press release:

ATLANTA, Feb. 28, 2007 - A voluntary separation offer made by UPS (NYSE:UPS) to a small group of corporate employees has been accepted by 194 individuals.

The offer was extended in December to employees who were age 50 or older with at least 10 years of service. Normal retirement age at UPS is 65.

As a result of the acceptances, UPS will record a one-time charge to expense of approximately $80 million during the first quarter of 2007. The company expects to generate a positive return on the program after two years.

The buyout offer was part of an on-going effort to consolidate corporate support functions in such areas as network planning, procurement, human resources, finance and sales.

Also from the UPS website Diversity Section:

Diversity at UPS/UPS People

Diversity and UPS PeopleUPS´s workforce is multicultural, multidimensional, and reflective of the broad attributes of our global communities. In fact, each year since 1999, UPS has been consecutively ranked by FORTUNE® magazine as one of the "50 Best Companies for Minorities."UPS understands that diversity encompasses more than ethnicity, gender, and age. It´s how employees think, the ideas they contribute, and their general attitude toward work and life.

UPS has every right to offer this separation package to staffers that are 50 and over in an attempt to get the best bang for its buck. But in doing so it is also sending a clear message to their other 400,000 employees how they feel towards their most experienced and seasoned staffers.