The declines in revenue and profit in recent quarters prompted UPS earlier this year to announce it would cut its management headcount by 12,000 employees.

The company reduced its operating expenses by 1.4% in the first quarter to $20.1 billion, from nearly $20.4 billion a year earlier.

The company this year is cutting jobs and adding more automation to move packages to reduce costs, improve efficiency and grow in the future.

It said it more than offset increased labor rates by cutting hours, reducing management and support staff by about 5,400 positions year-over-year and other cost savings. It plans to continue reductions in the second quarter.

UPS is closing about 200 of its more than 1,000 facilities around the country, consolidating the volume into facilities that use robotics and RFID tracking in what it calls a “network of the future,” as it laid out at an investor day last month.

The company aims to cut billions in costs over the next five years, and will focus more on areas with promise for high-profit growth including the health care industry and small-and medium-size businesses.

In the health care line of business, Tomé said UPS has opened a new “labport” at its Worldport air hub in Louisville, Kentucky, to deliver urgent packages to lab customers before sunrise, “so they can provide diagnostic results by early morning.”

She said UPS revenue from health care grew to $2.6 billion in the first quarter.

The company also expects growth from its recently-announced contract to handle air cargo for the U.S. Postal Service. Tomé said UPS has “plenty of space on our existing aircraft” for the additional cargo, can use regional gateways to help transport the cargo point-to-point, and would be hiring fewer than 200 pilots.

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