150 employees at Athens UPS facility “temporarily” lose jobs after fire

After a major fire damaged a building and 24 delivery trucks at a UPS facility in Athens, Tennessee, the company now says that more than 100 employees will “temporarily” lose their jobs due to a “reduction in force.”

A letter to the leaders of the city of Athens says that impacted employees were told on December 20th.

Dozens of packages were damaged in the December 4th fire and UPS said some customers’ pakcages would be delayed.

An Athens fire report said that UPS estimated the damage done to both the facility and their fleet, with the building coming out to $2.5 million, the contents being $4 million, and the cost of the 23 damaged delivery trucks coming out to $805,000.

The letter from UPS says…

Due to a fire at the Athens, Tennessee UPS facility, UPS employees assigned to the AThens UPS facility at 2025 Lawn Street… will be separated from employement on January 10, 2025, unless otherwise required by the applicable collective bargaining agreement. This building closure is expected to be temporary.

The letter goes on to say “This closure will affect both union and non-union employees.”

Athens’ Mayor Larry Eaton said in a statement…

Our city is working hard to try to keep the UPS facility here in Athens, TN. I , as mayor, have reached out to UPS officials to make sure they know the city of Athens, tn and the county is here to help ensure we keep such a facility as this in our community. UPS has been a huge part of our area for years and we want to ensure that the employees and UPS knows we are trying to help out all we can and will continue to reach out to UPS to build back the facility here in our great town of Athens.

UPS Media Relations spokesperson, Jim Mayer, said…

Due to a recent fire in our Athens, TN facility, we have temporarily closed the facility and set up operations at alternate locations. Our employees are extremely important to us, and we understand the impact this may have. We remain committed to working with our employees and providing support.

We have a crew in Athens and will update this story as more information becomes available.