RPS was purchased by FedEx, and as far as I know the employees went with the deal. DHL Express purchased Airborne, and the reason service is spotty is because they have fewer physical assets and employees than their two much larger competitors. That said, DHL Express' parent company is Deutsche Post, the second largest employer in the world. They're pumping cash into the US DHL Express operation, so one would have to figure that within the next five years DHL Express' service should improve within the US market (they're already dominant in most large ex-US markets).
—”RPS was purchased by FedEx, and as far as I know the employees went with the deal.”—
They did. And then new people and equipment were added.
Remember Flying Tigers? That was what is now FedEx.