Company Trying Voluntary Downsizing First

United Parcel Service will lay off 100 pilots by this fall. That word from. the Independent Pilots Association.

According to Capt. Bob Miller, the president of the Louisville-based pilots association, 19 UPS Airlines pilots were given 30-day notices on Friday. Another 81 pilots will be let go, Miller said.

Lay-Offs By September

UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said the company hopes to complete the lay-offs by September.

"This decision is really based on two key issues," Giuffre said. "The more modern aircraft only require two pilots. The older aircraft needed three pilots and that has created a surplus for us."

Negotiating Tactic?

The other issue is decrease in shipping volume, Giuffre said.

But the union disagrees.

"We didn't really feel that this was a necessary step," Miller said. "Domestic (service) has been a little flat but international has been going very well."

UPS and the association, which represents 2,520 UPS pilots, has been negotiating a new contract since October 2002.

"This will have some bearing on the negotiations," Miller said. "It's another issue that comes into play."

Giuffre said the layoffs, which the company has been considering for months, have nothing to do with the current contract situation.

FMI: www.ipapilot.org, www.ups.com/content/global/index.jsx\