The United Parcel Service has announced that it is offering buyouts to full-time drivers as part of its execution of "the largest network reconfiguration" in the company's history.

The company is cutting costs because of flat parcel volumes, rising labor costs and a long stock-price slide.

United Parcel Service Inc. plans to offer voluntary buyouts to union-represented delivery drivers for the first time in the company’s history as part of an effort to boost profit by slimming down its operations.