(Corrects 2nd paragraph to show UPS furloughed pilots in 2010 )
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -United Parcel Service has offered early retirement to its pilots as it works to offset softening demand, higher labor costs and business losses, a local television station reported on Thursday.
The move marks the first time the U.S. delivery company has reduced its ranks of pilots since 2010, when UPS furloughed 109 pilots. The company hopes that 167 pilots will take the early retirement offer, according to a news report from television station WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky.
Atlanta-based UPS employs about 3,400 pilots. It did not immediately comment on the report.
On Aug. 8, the company cut its full-year revenue and profitability targets, citing higher labor costs resulting from its new contract with some 340,000 workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. UPS pilots are represented by a different union.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
