COLUMBUS, OH (WOWO) Some Ohio UPS drivers are frustrated after the company withdrew its $150,000 voluntary buyout program less than a month before it was set to begin. The buyout was designed to allow full-time drivers to leave the company ahead of planned layoffs. According to WCMH, the Teamsters Union, representing 68,000 employees in 13 states, opposed the program as a violation of union contracts and filed 37 grievances, prompting UPS to cancel it in all union-represented states.

The Teamsters say the buyout would have undermined worker protections and violated contractual agreements, calling it a “shameless” violation of labor rules. Some drivers who applied for the buyout expressed concern about how management might treat them now that their interest in leaving is known.

The dispute comes amid broader tensions at UPS, where planned layoffs and voluntary exit programs have raised questions about workforce stability. Union leaders maintain that the responsibility for the program’s cancellation lies with the company, not the union. Management has not detailed how it will handle employees affected by the buyout’s cancellation.