UPS Is Hiring 100,000 Seasonal Workers
for the 2026 Holidays
UPS has announced plans to hire 100,000 seasonal workers ahead of the 2026 holiday shipping season. The seasonal workforce will sort, transport and deliver packages during the holiday rush — and UPS says applicants can receive a job offer in under seven minutes, with competitive pay, flexible schedules and the possibility of a permanent position. What the roles cover, what changed since last year, and how to apply on the legitimate channel.
Contents
1. The Hiring Update at a Glance 2. The Roles and the Pay 3. Why This Year Is Smaller 4. How to Apply 5. How to Verify the Posting Is RealThe Hiring Update at a Glance
Announced in the week of 7 October 2026, from UPS and reported by Quartz and Reuters:
- Company — UPS (United Parcel Service), the Atlanta-based shipping giant.
- Scale — 100,000 seasonal workers for the 2026 holiday season, across sorting, transport and delivery.
- Trend — down for the second year in a row: 110,000 seasonal hires in 2025 and 125,000 in 2024, according to Reuters.
- Speed — UPS says applicants can get a job offer in less than seven minutes.
- Upside — seasonal roles come with competitive pay, flexible schedules and the possibility of a permanent position.
- Apply channel — UPS's official jobs portal (upsjobs.com).
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Browse the Directory →The Roles and the Pay
Seasonal hires do the core holiday work of the network:
- Package handlers and sorters — loading, unloading and sorting parcels in hubs and centres during the peak surge.
- Drivers and driver helpers — delivering the holiday volume to homes and businesses.
- Fast offers — UPS says the application process can produce an offer in under seven minutes.
- Flexible schedules — seasonal shifts are built around the peak, which suits students and second-job seekers.
- Permanent path — UPS says seasonal roles can convert into permanent positions; holiday seasons are historically one of its largest pipelines for full-time hires.
UPS is also expanding holiday services this year: new or upgraded automated facilities in Denver, St. Paul, Syracuse and Portland, a new Protected Delivery service that asks recipients for a PIN before high-value shipments are released, scheduling alerts for pickups, and expanded returns through a partnership with Happy Returns.
Why This Year Is Smaller
The 100,000 target is not just a number — it sits inside a restructuring:
- Workforce cuts — earlier in 2026, UPS said it would shed as many as 30,000 operational positions and shutter 24 facilities through the year, according to Reuters.
- Amazon pullback — the cuts are tied to UPS deliberately reducing lower-margin Amazon volume and focusing on more lucrative shipment categories.
- Strong quarter anyway — UPS beat earnings expectations in Q2 2026 (adjusted earnings per share of $1.76 against an estimate of $1.66) and lifted its full-year revenue target to about $91.2 billion. CEO Carol Tomé said the Amazon volume reduction was complete, while the UPS 2Q 2026 release's transformation section (discussed by CFO Brian Dykes) reported roughly $1.2 billion in benefits in the first half toward a $3 billion full-year target.
- Scale reminder — UPS reported 2025 revenue of $88.7 billion and employs about 460,000 people worldwide, so 100,000 seasonal roles remain one of the single largest holiday hiring drives in the US.
Executive Vice President Matt Guffey said UPS has delivered industry-leading service for eight consecutive peak seasons and is ready to do it again — which is why the seasonal intake still matters even as permanent headcount shrinks.
How to Apply
Apply only through UPS's official channels:
- UPS jobs portal — https://www.upsjobs.com/
UPS never charges application, interview or training fees. Seasonal hiring happens on upsjobs.com — anyone asking you to pay to be considered for a UPS role is running a scam.
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Holiday-season hiring is heavily impersonated by scammers sending fake job texts and emails. Run this checklist before sharing anything:
- Check the domain — real UPS hiring lives on
upsjobs.com. Lookalike domains, Gmail addresses and messaging-app recruiters are fraud. - Match the opening — confirm the role, location and seasonal tag on the portal; a "recruiter" quoting a vacancy you cannot find there is running a scam.
- Never pay to apply — no legitimate employer charges for applications, background checks, uniforms or equipment. Any request for a fee, gift card or crypto is a scam.
- Watch for off-platform moves — a recruiter who pushes you to WhatsApp or Telegram with an "urgent onboarding fee" is running a fraud operation.
- Verify before documents — share ID and eligibility documents only inside the official application flow, never over chat.