A voluntary separation offer made by UPS to a small group of corporate employees has been accepted by 194 individuals, the company has announced. The offer was extended in December to employees who were age 50 or older with at least 10 years of service. Normal retirement age at UPS is 65.

As a result of the acceptances, UPS will record a one-time charge to expense of approximately $80 million during the first quarter of 2007. The company expects to generate a positive return on the programme after two years.

The buyout offer was part of an on-going effort to consolidate corporate support functions in such areas as network planning, procurement, human resources, finance and sales.