United Parcel Service is closing the Raleigh office it has leased for the past 20 years and is cutting 60 local jobs as the package-delivery company consolidates its operating districts.

The Raleigh district office, which had employed 160 people in administrative and management positions, will close by March 31. The change does not affect delivery drivers.

After eliminating the two-story, 14,000-square foot office on Navaho Drive near Duke Raleigh Hospital, the Atlanta-based company will operate out of a single North Carolina district headquarters in Charlotte.

UPS will keep 100 jobs in Raleigh, but those employees will report to different offices, some of which are to be determined, spokeswoman Kristen Petrella said.

The workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be offered other positions within the company locally, in Charlotte and in Columbia, S.C., and possibly nationwide, Petrella said. Employees who stay with the company will not have to take a cut in pay, Petrella said. However, some of those employees could retire or leave the company.

"Our goal is to place those displaced people in other positions," Petrella said. "We're hoping, since first and foremost we're trying to place people locally, that most people stay with us."

UPS, facing competition from FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service, is consolidating several districts nationwide to streamline operations and reduce expenses. Published reports have said that FedEx is in discussions to buy smaller rival DHL's U.S. shipping business, which would increase pressure on UPS.

The world's largest shipping carrier has been hurt by rising fuel prices and expects continued financial challenges in coming months as a result of the nation's economic downturn. UPS reported a $2.6 billion quarterly loss Wednesday, largely caused by expenses associated with a change in an employee pension plan.

In Raleigh, the jobs affected by the office closing include human resources, business development, industrial engineering and plant engineering. The 60 jobs being eliminated are office jobs. People who held them reported every day to the office on Navaho Drive, Petrella said.

The 100 positions being retained did not require working out of the Raleigh district headquarters regularly; rather, their work took them to company operating centers, UPS franchise stores and to meet with customers, Petrella said.

UPS employees learned of the changes this month. UPS employs 425,300 nationwide.