Yeah, this is actually a more important point than many realize. And it’s not just like they pay their drivers via 1099. There are third party companies that use fleets of their own, marked with FedEx branding to deliver packages. This is different from e.g. UPS, who afaik owns all their own fleets. It is imo more difficult to maintain consistent quality and predictable service with FedEx’s model, which I think is why their service is so bad in my area in particular.

My family has a running joke that if it’s FedEx the delivery date is like the pirate code… “more like a guideline”