Logistics service providers are expanding their teams to handle peak holiday shipping, adding thousands of warehousing jobs around the world.
Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics, Inc. said this week that it plans to hire 22,000 workers by the end of the year to support warehouse operations around the world as it handles record growth this year and prepares for the peak holiday season. The company said many of the added jobs will continue through January 2023 to support the post-holiday return season.
“Our hiring plan reflects a record year of customer growth,” Bill Fraine, GXO’s chief commercial officer, said in a Thursday release. “A great peak starts with planning, requiring real-time agility to adapt to market demand. As we prepare for the peak season, we are also planning to have one of the busiest returns seasons as shoppers look to exchange items after the holidays. Consumers continue to extend the peak season into the new year, and the peak period that ended in December has passed.”
GXO said it will employ around 11,000 team members in the UK, 4,000 in the US, 1,500 in France, 2,500 in Spain, 1,100 in Italy and 2,000 in the Netherlands.
dhl Supply Chain is also adding seasonal staff and plans to hire an additional 12,000 workers during peak seasons. Three-quarters of those jobs will be in its warehouses serving retail and e-commerce customers, the company said.
“With high growth driven by pent-up demand across most product categories, we see growth rates returning to pre-pandemic levels. Nonetheless, we expect volumes to remain strong,” dhl Supply Chain CEO Scott Sureddin said in a press release earlier this month. “It is with this in mind that we have made significant investments to provide the resources needed to support our customers and employees.”
dhl Supply Chain has also upgraded its technical configuration to cope with peak demand. During this peak season, the company will use 2,000 cobots to help solve labor challenges and increase efficiency across the industry. The company used about 1,500 cobots at its peak last year.
“Last season, our cobots played a key role in our success; they helped increase throughput by 20 percent,” said Sally Miller, CIO, Supply Chain, dhl. “Furthermore, they were able to maintain consistent levels of productivity throughout the day thanks to a 60% reduction in walking time, so feedback from our staff has been very positive.”
Most Commented