FedEx 3Q earnings tumble 75%

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
MrFedEx: Why do you automatically assume that I am in management? There are plenty of other jobs within FedEx besides courier and manager. I will say there are ALOT of crappy managers, but that is true of every company. There are also some very good ones. But, don't forget that these managers were almost all at one point handlers/couriers/CSAs, just like you......I understand that it's all for show, but to generalize it and say "spoken like a true manager" is ridiculous. If you honestly feel that management has nothing better to do than make your life miserable, you have either given them a reason to do so, or you are extremely paranoid. They have plenty of other things to worry about. Ops Manager is by far the most difficult position within FedEx, anyone that disagrees with that has no idea what the job entails. There is a reason that the divorce rate for FedEx mgrs is 70%, it's not b/c they are all out playing golf all day or home with their families. You have to balance the needs of the employees with the best interests of the customer/company, not an easy task. I just don't think it's fair to lump the good with the bad.

There are plenty of jobs at Fedex, if you want to live in Memphis.I was speaking of non-JCATS positions in my earlier post, and yes,there are still hourly jobs that are transfers. My comment wasn't "all for show", because you're parroting all of management's talking points. Being an Ops manager is a thankless job, and I've never said otherwise. I'm smart enough to have seen the carnage and thought better of heading into management myself.

When I criticize managment on this site, my comments are almost always directed at the talking heads in MEM, who make the policies and procedures that lower level management gets to enforce, even if they don't make any sense. I get along fine with my managers because I'm a "7" employee. They don't have any reason to bother me. But to look at the big picture, FedEx is a very troubled organization, and they have not been doing the hourly employee any favors for a very long time. Even if the union is voted down, Fred has his hands full with some very unhappy workers. If you were still a courier, would you be happy with the direction FedEx has gone over the last 5 years? Even before this recession, Smith has been on a relentless crusade to cut hours and benefits, extend top-out times, and increase productivity. He's gotten the productivity, so where's the payoff for us? There isn't one, unless you count working harder for less a benefit.
 

FedEx2000

Well-Known Member
I have only been out of the courier position for about 16 months, so I am not that far removed from it. I still deal with and have many friends that are couriers, none of which feel as you do about the union etc. Would they like more pay? Of course, who doesn't. I took a 5% cut, no bonus or merit increase, and lost the 401k match just like everyone else. All this less than 2 weeks before the hourly employees got their bonus payout at the end of the year. Sure, it was already funded, but they could have easily not paid it out. Was I glad to take a pay cut? No, but I would gladly do it again if it means saving hourly employees from losing their jobs. I work just as hard everyday for less pay than before.

So what if UPS pays their drivers more per hour? Why should any company be required to pay their employees the same wages as another company? Do all managers at FedEx make as much as managers at UPS? I honestly have no idea, but if you have a better offer, take it. Or don't, it's up to you.

I enjoyed being a courier very much, but I was not so naive to think that we were the only ones that mattered. You say that looking at the big picture, FedxEx is a troubled company and hasn't done any favors for the hourlies. Well I would say that looking at the big picture means taking into account everyone, not just the hourlies. There are many difficult decisions that are made which may not make sense to many people throught the organization, but they often don't understand them and choose to criticize rather than educate themselves. (Not implying that you are one of these people)

After all, it is a businees, the whole idea is to make money. If you had founded FedEx, or another company, I doubt you (or I) would be so different. At least we don't have a CEO/COO/CFO that came in for 6 mos. ran it into the ground and got millions to sit by and watch it collapse.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
You had stated that our operating costs would rise about 30% if we went IBT. If you add up the money Fred picked from our pockets with the pension takeaway, and the many years of underpaying hourlies with extended top-outs and denyed market level raises, that's probably about 30%, isn't it?

You said you weren't management, but you also said you just took a 5% pay cut. Which is it?

The couriers you reference as not wanting to go union....do you think they'd actually be honest with someone in management given the unspoken but very prevalent anti-union attitude of the corporation? Being openly pro-union at FedEx is like painting a bullseye on your back. The efforts to get rid of you would start as soon as managment put you on the watch list, which does exist (illegally). At my location, most employees have finally figured out that PSP is a joke, and that Fred is not their friend. It's taken a long time, but even the most purple among us are starting to wise up. I'd say it's about 75/25 for the Teamsters at my station.

Why do you think the SFA has been delayed this year? First, Fred is awaiting the decision on the RLA. Second, he's seen the results of the recent Loyalty Survey, and I'm guessing they were not favorable. And third, he will definitely not raise pay if he successfully blackmails Congress, so he can save himself a few hundred million if he gets his way on that front.

I've been approached to go into management on numerous occasions, and I've always stayed away because I love my family too much to subject them to it. I also disagree with Fred's USMC managment credo. Maybe it works in the Marine Corps, but it doesn't translate well into the business world. Your 70% figure might even be low on the divorce rate.

I'm glad you've found a happy place at FredEx, and maybe you're one of the good managers that are so scarce at Express. Most wouldn't even understand this conversation, and many wouldn't be able to express themselves very well in this forum. You're obviously much brighter than most of them. That's what happens when you scare away the prime candidates and accept what's left over.
 

FedEx2000

Well-Known Member
It wasn't just management that took the 5% cut, it was pretty much all salaried positions below MD/Exec level. I don't believe that I said I wasn't a manager, I just asked why you assumed I was one based on an earlier post. If so, I apologize for the confusion.

There is absolutely no such thing as the "watch list" you refer to. If there is, it is specific to your location and done w/o FedEx approval. I worked at 5 different stations over the years and have never heard of or seen such a list. My guess is that it's either a nasty rumor, or a ridiculous scare tactic by a crappy management team.

The couriers I refer to are some of my best friends that I worked with, not employees that report to me. They have absolutely no reason to lie about or deny anything to me. Maybe I have just been lucky to have worked in good stations, but I have yet to meet a single courier (when I was a courier) that wanted the union. Not to say there weren't some at the station that did, but out of approx. 500-600 couriers I never met any that did.

Time will tell if the employees want the union, but I just don't think it will benefit the company/customers as a whole. They can promise you the world, but if FedEx doesn't agree to their terms it does no good. There will always be someone else willing to do the job, especially in this economy.

I can't imagine a place where an employee and a manager have to have a babysitter at every meeting. Sometimes, with certain people, it is needed. I guess I would just like to think that two adults working for the same company could work things out rationally rather than trying to get the other person fired. In a perfect world, right?
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
There have been watch lists because they have been shown to me by a friend who is in management. If you speak-up about unions or distribute flyers etc. you are on the list and a manager is assigned to keep track of your activities. This was 7 years ago, so it may have been discontinued because it leaked or somebody let them know it was illegal. I would bet it's still continuing.

We'll have to agree to disagree on how couriers feel about the IBT. Where I work, the majority have had it with the low pay, long top-out times, and general lousy treatment. The PPP was the final straw for many of us, and I notice you didn't respond to my questioni on how killing the traditional plan was an example of Fred keeping his commitment to us.

Yes, the lousy economy will hinder unionization, but Fred's payoff will be further reduced morale and problems if he doesn't address the many issues hourlies have. And that's whether we go union or not. Even when the economy was strong, Smith kept up the takeaways, justifying them by "needing to expand into International markets", "buying new and more efficient aircraft" and on and on. At some point, upper management needs to remember that there are other employees who matter at FedEx besides pilots and executives. Somewhere along the line, that's been forgotten. And they can spout PSP, and "FedEx Cares" and whatever other feel good manure sounds good, but nobody is buying it anymore. When we view Frontline, many couriers just laugh, and the ops managers say nothing, because they've got nothing they can counter with that says FedEx does give a sheet.

Upper management has completely lost any shred of believability with the average worker, and they still don't realize it. It's kind of pathetic to watch MT3 and his ilk keep spouting the same old crap like we actually believe any of it.

It sounds like you're one of the few good ones and I respect you for that. But Fedex has a long ways to go before they get it straightened out and flying right. A lot of people don't give a damn anymore, and the customer sees it. Fred will get what he pays for, and that won't be good for either the employees or the customers. In the meantime, those shippers will go over to UPS, and I can't blame them for doing so.
 

FedEx2000

Well-Known Member
Didn't intentionally avoid the pension statement, just forgot to touch on it. Sure, the changes weren't all for the better, but many were also due to legal changes/SOX. I guess i am just glad i still have one and that it wasn't just taken away all together a la United/Enron/insert company here. My advice is to plan your retirement like you don't have a pension, just a 401k/IRA/whatever investments you want and the pension is all gravy. Easier said than done, I know. Hopefully it will be more than the 10 cents a week I might get from social security.

I agree that most of upper mgt is out of touch with the day-to-day operations, but I think it's more due to their macro-view of the company. They are trying to do the best thing for the company as a whole as well as the shareholders (which is the goal of a publicly held company), but that doesn't always translate well to the hourlies. They are well aware that without the hard work/effort of the hourlies, FedEx would not have become the company that it is. (Some would say use to be, not I)
Most of them have come up through the ranks as well, though it is a bit more about who you know than what you know. That's just how the world works. Can't say I blame them that much, I would prefer to have people around me that I know and trust who have come up through the ranks with me and have a vested interest in the company. Not a perfect situation, but I think better than headhunting people from other company's that don't give a darn about the place they work and are just following the money.

It is interesting to the SFA results each year and upper mgt wonders why they score so much lower than local mgt (usually). They assume local mgt has passed the buck and sold them out. May be true in a few places, but usually it's just b/c most of the hourlies are intelligent enough to know where things come from.

I, personally, would like to see FedEx give the hourlies a "FedEx Stimulus" if you will. (If there are no raises this year) $1,000 to each FTer and $500 to the PTers, or something similar. It would be cheaper than raises, but would at least be a good faith effort. Probably not going to happen though for obvious reasons.

It's tragic that some people don't care anymore, especially if it is affecting the customer. I don't care what the issue is, the customers pay the bills and giving them crappy service will guarantee no raises/fewer jobs etc. Taking it out on them is the worst possible solution and counteracts everything that you/I/FedEx stands for. Whatever is bothering you that day, leave it at home/in the station and forget about it while you are in front of the customers. They have problems too, they don't need to hear or care about ours.

As we lose a customer to UPS, they lose one to us. It's a neverending process and the only thing I can do about it is make sure it doesn't happen at my location. Control what you can control my friend! We may not see eye to eye on many things, but you obviously still care and that is a very good thing.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
It's nice to have a discussion with someone who actually has a clue about what's going on at FedEx. Please clone yourself and spread a few more examples around through the ranks of management.

Fred pulled a fast one with the PPP, and I won't forget it, nor will most of the hourlies. He didn't have to pull the plug on the old plan, which wasn't very generous either, but he did. Always the opportunist, Fred played-up the financial problems of the passenger airlines, which were having lots of problems, and used that to justify eliminating our pension, even though FedEx was still extremely profitable. ERISA figured into it, but Smith basically made our pension into a non-pension. The portable plan only benefits very senior employees who had already maxed-out under the old plan. New people are hosed, and will have to depend on their 401k's, which aren't making any money now either, especially since the FedEx match is gone. Most of them are actually headed backwards. If and when the economy recovers, expect a mass exodus as couriers who are only there because the job market is so weak, leave for greener pastures.

I'm glad you agree that upper management is severely out of touch, but I disagree that they realize that frontline employees are important too. Actions speak louder than words, and their decisions over the last 10 years send a strong message to us box monkeys that they not only do not care, but that they will throw us under the bus every chance they get if it saves or makes money. There is always a tipping point, and Fred and the upper crust have far exceeded it. His latest games concerning the RLA, the EFCA, and the Boeing scam are openly discussed among the lowly, and Fred is generally thought of in unprintable terms these days.

I like the "stimulus plan", but it needs to be accompanied by some reform of our pension plan if it is going to be an effective anti-union mechanism. Like many others, I'm no big fan of Hoffa and the IBT, but if it means having a job that actually pays me a decent wage and retirement plan, count me in. Hoffa and Smith are both as crooked as a mountain road in the Alps, and they both disgust me, but Hoffa doesn't smell quite as bad as Fred does.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
Why in the world is Fredex suing UPS ???

Every burger joint says they have the best burger....whats the difference here??:dissapointed:
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
Here's the story.....


FedEx Sues UPS Over ‘Most Reliable’ Claim

Monday, May 04, 2009, Vol. 124, No. 86
ANDY MEEK | The Daily News


Memphis-based FedEx Corp. has gone to court in an attempt to get rival United Parcel Service Inc. to take down TV and print advertising touting UPS as “the most reliable” shipment carrier.
FedEx filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Friday asking for a temporary restraining order against UPS. The legal flap concerns UPS’ promotion of a November 2008 Morgan Stanley Parcel Return Survey the Atlanta-based carrier refers to in TV and print ads.
FedEx and UPS spokesmen did not immediately return calls. In its complaint, FedEx uses the wording of a voiceover in the UPS TV ad as one example of why the Memphis shipping giant was rankled enough to go to court.
“If you’re looking for a shipping company who really understands today’s economy, you’d want one that’s helped customers through 20 recessions, had over 400,000 employees worldwide, over a hundred years’ experience and was just ranked the most reliable,” the TV ad tells viewers. “Well, that would be UPS.”
Not quite, FedEx lawyers told its rival in a March 31 letter to UPS lawyer James Harris.
In the 2009 version of the Morgan Stanley survey, FedEx was listed at the top of the “service reliability” category, according to the FedEx complaint. The Memphis company also takes issue with the wording that UPS was “just ranked” the top carrier.
“UPS’ claim that it was ‘just’ ranked most reliable is simply not true,” FedEx senior counsel Bradley Peacock wrote to Harris a few weeks ago. “The ‘survey’ was published in early November 2008, and was obviously based on information compiled prior to that date.
“Moreover, the survey was conducted prior to DHL’s departure from the U.S. domestic market, a factor which would likely have a significant impact on the results if the survey were conducted again today.”
Late last year, UPS and FedEx competitor DHL announced it would end its U.S. domestic operations effective Jan. 30.

 

moreluck

golden ticket member
FedEx to take Q4 $900mln charge as recession bites

Wed Jun 3, 2009 5:16pm EDT
* $900 mln goodwill charge, mostly for FedEx Kinko's
* Charge due to weak economic conditions
CHICAGO, June 3 (Reuters) - FedEx Corp said on Wednesday that it would record a fourth-quarter impairment charge of $900 million related to two acquisitions that have been hit by weak economic conditions.
The majority of the charge is related to Kinko's, which FedEx bought in 2004 and has been seen as a disappointment by the package delivery giant.
FedEx's announcement came in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Memphis-based company said it would record a non-cash goodwill charge of $810 million for the quarter ending May 31 for the home office supply chain, which it bought in 2004 and re-branded first FedEx Kinko's and more recently FedEx Office.
Kinko's has not performed well under FedEx, which analysts have attributed to the fact that it lies outside the package delivery company's area of expertise in the world of shipping.
The remaining $90 million of the goodwill charge is related to the acquisition of less-than-truckload company Watkins Motor Lines -- now known as FedEx National LTL -- in 2006.
Less-than-truckload companies consolidate smaller loads into a single truck. FedEx's acquisition of Watkins was welcomed by analysts at the time. But the business has suffered along with the rest of the U.S. trucking sector, which has struggled with weak volumes since late 2006 and has been battered by the recession.
FedEx said that altogether it should record charges of $1.2 billion for the fourth quarter. The company said that apart from the $900 million goodwill charge, most of those charges have already been announced.
FedEx's main rival United Parcel Service Inc owns less-than-truckload company UPS Freight and shipping and office supply chain UPS Stores.
Both UPS and FedEx are seen as bellwethers of U.S. economic activity and have seen their shipping business hit by the recession.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
Here's the story.....


FedEx Sues UPS Over ‘Most Reliable’ Claim

Monday, May 04, 2009, Vol. 124, No. 86
ANDY MEEK | The Daily News


Memphis-based FedEx Corp. has gone to court in an attempt to get rival United Parcel Service Inc. to take down TV and print advertising touting UPS as “the most reliable” shipment carrier.
FedEx filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Friday asking for a temporary restraining order against UPS. The legal flap concerns UPS’ promotion of a November 2008 Morgan Stanley Parcel Return Survey the Atlanta-based carrier refers to in TV and print ads.
FedEx and UPS spokesmen did not immediately return calls. In its complaint, FedEx uses the wording of a voiceover in the UPS TV ad as one example of why the Memphis shipping giant was rankled enough to go to court.
“If you’re looking for a shipping company who really understands today’s economy, you’d want one that’s helped customers through 20 recessions, had over 400,000 employees worldwide, over a hundred years’ experience and was just ranked the most reliable,” the TV ad tells viewers. “Well, that would be UPS.”
Not quite, FedEx lawyers told its rival in a March 31 letter to UPS lawyer James Harris.
In the 2009 version of the Morgan Stanley survey, FedEx was listed at the top of the “service reliability” category, according to the FedEx complaint. The Memphis company also takes issue with the wording that UPS was “just ranked” the top carrier.
“UPS’ claim that it was ‘just’ ranked most reliable is simply not true,” FedEx senior counsel Bradley Peacock wrote to Harris a few weeks ago. “The ‘survey’ was published in early November 2008, and was obviously based on information compiled prior to that date.
“Moreover, the survey was conducted prior to DHL’s departure from the U.S. domestic market, a factor which would likely have a significant impact on the results if the survey were conducted again today.”
Late last year, UPS and FedEx competitor DHL announced it would end its U.S. domestic operations effective Jan. 30.



Why don't UPS just bring up another poll or survey that ranks us at the top of the industry? There is usually more than one. FedEx sounds like a sore loser on this one.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Why don't UPS just bring up another poll or survey that ranks us at the top of the industry? There is usually more than one. FedEx sounds like a sore loser on this one.

You are absolutely correct. One would think that FedEx has more to worry about than this kind of crap.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
Teamsters: FedEx Threatens to 'Destroy' Members of Congress


PR Newswire




Follows Fred S Threat to Pull Contracts with Boeing



WASHINGTON, June 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- FedEx CEO Fred S's arrogant campaign of threats and intimidation continued this week when his top spokesman threatened to take down members of Congress who oppose FedEx's position on a key piece of legislation.
When asked about FedEx's multi-million dollar ad campaign against the legislation that is reported to launch on Tuesday, June 9, top FedEx flack Maury Lane told U.S. News and World Report in a story posted in The White House Bulletin, "I'm going to try to destroy them."

This follows Smith's repeated threats to cancel a $10 billion contract to purchase Boeing 777 planes if FedEx Express workers were moved under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
FedEx clearly threatened in a March 24, 2009 SEC filing, and Smith reiterated in testimony before Congress in May, that its contract to purchase additional aircraft from Boeing is contingent upon its labor relations for all of its employees being governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Under this provision, if Congress dares to grant even a portion of its workers the rights enjoyed by most American private sector employees under the NRLA, FedEx has the right to cancel those purchase orders.

"Fred S and FedEx breed a culture of arrogance," said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. "First, they cut wages, increase medical insurance premiums and eliminate pension benefits for its employees. Then they try to blackmail Congress with threats to pull the Boeing contract. Now they threaten to destroy the political careers of those who oppose them."

Currently, all workers at FedEx Express are covered by the RLA regardless of whether they have any direct relationship with the operation or maintenance of the air fleet. This includes package delivery drivers, workers at sorting facilities and truck mechanics.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation on May 21 that is a part of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and would place those workers under the NLRA, the statute that protects virtually all other private sector workers. Under the NLRA, workers may organize by individual terminals while the RLA requires a more difficult path to unionization that requires a national vote by every worker at FedEx Express. The reauthorization bill is currently awaiting action in the Senate.
"It's astonishing that Fred S and his flacks will go to any length to boost FedEx's profits at the expense of American workers and the economy," said hall, Director of the Teamsters Package Division. "By threatening to destroy members of Congress, FedEx's efforts to manipulate the American system of government have crossed the line."

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
 

TechGrrl

Space Cadet
Take a look at my post in the FedEx Forums about the real reasons Fred is grounding the planes. Aircraft are usually engineered according to the engine technology available at the time they were designed.As a result, very few aircraft are good candidates for engine swaps. The DC-8 is one of the few exceptions, and was very successfully re-engined with CFM56's. UPS still flies them, as do other cargo carriers.
Actually, UPS has grounded all DC-8's. The engines may be more efficient than the originals, but a 4-engine plane burns more gas than a 2-engine plane. 727's are gone, also, for the same reason. AND, they need 3 people in the cockpit instead of 2. 50% more personnel cost, and pilots ain't cheap.

UPS' real cost advantage over FredEx is the air network. Their airfeed costs are much lower than FredEx because of a more efficient network. Industrial Engineers can be a real pain in the butt sometimes, but this is one area they really earn their keep.
 
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unionman

Well-Known Member
Actually, UPS has grounded all DC-8's. The engines may be more efficient than the originals, but a 4-engine plane burns more gas than a 2-engine plane. 727's are gone, also, for the same reason. AND, they need 3 people in the cockpit instead of 2. 50% more personnel cost, and pilots ain't cheap.

UPS' real cost advantage over FredEx is the air network. Their airfeed costs are much lower than FredEx because of a more efficient network. Industrial Engineers can be a real pain in the butt sometimes, but this is one area they really earn their keep.

Yeah but those DC8s were payed for. How much money is UPS going to lose when they get caught with there pants down when the economy picks up. You bean counters can't see past the end of your pencil, you don't know anything about running an airline and you only see numbers. Why did we buy the MD11? Because FEDX had them? Why did we spend millions putting glass cockpits and new engines on 727s and why didn't we take the option for 30 more Airbus 300s for 30 million a piece? Mistake after mistake and the pilots make to much.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Actually, UPS has grounded all DC-8's. The engines may be more efficient than the originals, but a 4-engine plane burns more gas than a 2-engine plane. 727's are gone, also, for the same reason. AND, they need 3 people in the cockpit instead of 2. 50% more personnel cost, and pilots ain't cheap.

UPS' real cost advantage over FredEx is the air network. Their airfeed costs are much lower than FredEx because of a more efficient network. Industrial Engineers can be a real pain in the butt sometimes, but this is one area they really earn their keep.

Yes, I'd read that the DC-8's have been retired as have our DC-10's (the MD10 derivative is still flying). I'm not sure if UPS airfeed costs are any less than ours because you are flying the same routes we are in most cases. One big advantage UPS has is more newer 757's and 767's flying on runs where we use MD10's. FedEx is starting to buy 757's to totally eliminate the 727....as far as I know we are still using some of them.
 

TechGrrl

Space Cadet
Yes, I'd read that the DC-8's have been retired as have our DC-10's (the MD10 derivative is still flying). I'm not sure if UPS airfeed costs are any less than ours because you are flying the same routes we are in most cases. One big advantage UPS has is more newer 757's and 767's flying on runs where we use MD10's. FedEx is starting to buy 757's to totally eliminate the 727....as far as I know we are still using some of them.

No, the airfeed costs actually are lower. Although superficially it appears that we fly the same routes, small differences add up. I was once involved in a project that demonstrated one less airplane equaled over $100 million in annual costs. UPS flys fewer airplanes to cover more volume. I know FedEx IE's are working hard to make up ground, but airplanes are really really really expensive. One airplane = at least 6 pilots + mechanics + fuel + spare parts + yada yada yada.
 
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