UPS Warns Your Holiday Packages May Arrive Late

Aric Jenkins
Updated
UPS drivers are working eight-day weeks to keep up with surging demand.

In the wake of record spending on this year’s Cyber Monday, UPS is struggling to keep up with deliveries as Christmas approaches.

The delivery company warned last week that some packages might arrive late by one or two days despite the efforts of employees working extended hours, according to the Washington Post. UPS expects its holiday output to increase by 5%, up to about 750 million packages throughout the holiday season.

To cope with the increased demand, UPS implemented a 70-hour, eight-day workweek for its drivers (up from 60 hours over seven days). The company previously also said that it had plans to hire roughly 95,000 temporary employees for the holidays, according to the Post.

Despite slip-ups last week due to the Cyber Monday influx — which saw Americans spend a record $6.59 billion, according to an Adobe Analytics report — UPS says that it’s back on track for the month of December.

“UPS’s operations have returned to the peak operating plan after the initial Cyber Week surge,” a company spokeswoman wrote in an email to the newspaper. “The vast majority of packages will be delivered in accordance with the service commitments for the specified time-in-transit.”