FedEx to cut senior jobs as part of larger staff reduction

LOS ANGELES: FedEx Corp on Wednesday said it would cut its officer and director ranks by 10% as part of a broad cost-reduction effort that has reduced staffing at the delivery giant by 12,000 workers since June, a spokeswoman said.

Shares in FedEx rose 2.4% to $198.47 as investors applauded the move, which signals progress on the company’s plan to slash expenses by $3.7 billion this year.

FedEx did not say how many positions would be affected by the new layoffs. Its overall workforce reductions account for a little over 2% of FedEx’s 547,000 full-time and part-time workers reported for the year ended May 2022. Most of the cuts came through attrition and other means, spokeswoman Rachael Simmons said.

In mid-September, FedEx pulled its profit forecast and shares swooned more than 20% - the largest single-day drop in the company’s 50-year history.

The company’s newly minted Chief Executive Raj Subramaniam blamed a global business downturn, but critics pointed to a flat-footed response to slowing demand and ongoing profit pressure from FedEx’s expensive, separately run business units.