MEMPHIS, Tenn.—FedEx Corporation is shipping American jobs overseas, according to the FedEx Master Executive Council (MEC), represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA). The April flying schedules reveal a stark reality: European intra-theater 757 routes, once flown by FedEx ALPA pilots, have vanished from mainline operations—outsourced entirely to foreign contractors.
“This move threatens the very future of FedEx pilots,” said Capt. Jose Nieves, FDX ALPA Master Executive Council chair. “FedEx pilots and their families have built careers dedicated to the company’s global mission, only to watch management ship our jobs overseas and give the flying to foreign carriers.”
Since 2011, FedEx has maintained a pilot base in Cologne, Germany, supporting its massive European hub at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport in Paris—the company’s largest air cargo hub in Europe and the second largest in the world. Hundreds of pilots and their families have lived in Europe to serve these critical routes. When FedEx closed the Cologne pilot base in 2024, management stated that the flying would shift to Memphis-based pilots, mirroring Far East operations through its Oakland, California, pilot domicile. Since then, FedEx management has steadily slashed European mainline 757 flying, and with the April schedule release, all those routes once flown by FedEx ALPA pilots have transitioned to foreign, third-party contract carriers. The FedEx hub at CDG is vital to European flights and global e-commerce.
On April 11, 2023, in their System Bid & Crew Base Update, FedEx management stated: “… Analysis showed that supporting 757 European flying from Memphis, despite requiring additional pilots, reduces our overall cost structure.”
“The reality is clear—European FedEx 757 pilot flights have been completely replaced by third-party contract carriers,” said Nieves. “Instead of utilizing highly trained and experienced FedEx ALPA pilots, the Corporation has chosen to outsource these jobs to foreign operators. Recently, FedEx Executive Chairman Fred Smith signaled growth in the Far East market. One can only wonder whether those will be FedEx pilots flying under our established routes or if they will be outsourced as well.”
The FedEx MEC continues to call on FedEx management to prioritize its pilots and honor its commitments to maintaining mainline operations. U.S. jobs should not be outsourced in the name of corporate cost-cutting.
