UPS boosts holiday hiring to 95,000 in 2014
UPS wants to make sure you get your packages in time for Christmas. The company says it will hire as many as 95,000 seasonal workers this holiday season.
It’s also a big deal for the thousand of Americans who didn’t get their packages in time for Christmas last year.
The 2013 Holiday Scramble
Last year UPS (UPS) apologized to thousands of Americans who didn’t get their packages in time for the Christmas holiday due to bad weather and a surge in last minute orders. The company offered refunds on shipping costs, and one of its major clients, Amazon (AMZN), offered $20 gift cards to affected customers. Rival FedEx (FDX) also saw delivery problems in 2013 and promised to “work” with customers, but didn’t offer refunds.
According to top UPS executives, the company began planning for this holiday season even as it was scrambling to deliver packages that didn’t make it in time for the last holiday.
“We started planning for this peak on December 26, 2013,” said Mark Wallace, Vice President of Industrial Engineering, in an interview with Yahoo Finance earlier this month.
“The consumer exceeded I think everybody’s expectations [last year],” said UPS Chief Commercial Officer Alan Gershenhorn. “We’re certainly much, much better prepared for that [this year]. We’re honed in on that.”
What to expect in 2014
When Gershenhorn says “much, much better prepared,” he means it. UPS has invested half a billion dollars in improving their infrastructure for holiday 2014. Some of those investments are holiday specific – including pop-up distribution centers that can move around the country to meet demand. Others are more long-term, including new equipment and two facilities in Texas.
Part of what the company has done to improve its holiday service is invest heavily in its ability to forecast consumer demands. It forecasts e-commerce to grow at least 12% this year, in line with last year.
The company commissions its own Comscore reports and meets regularly with retailers. It’s also pushing its new “MyChoice” program so that it can communicate directly with customers regarding their preferences and delivery options.
Another benefit for 2014? There are two additional operating days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. And UPS will be operating on all cylinders. Black Friday, which used to be only air deliveries, will now be a fully operational day for the company.
Holiday Hiring
UPS isn’t the only company boosting holiday hiring, but it’s one of the first to announce its hiring target. Last year, 39% of retailers planned to hire extra holiday help, a jump from 36% in 2012. And it’s not just retailers, employers in information technology, leisure and hospitality, and financial services all hire extra people to meet seasonal demand.
At the same time, post-holiday layoffs also surged. According to a Challenger, Gray and Christmas report, layoffs jumped 50% in January 2014. Companies like Macy’s (M) announced layoffs despite big holiday sales.
UPS, on the other hand, says that its holiday hires have the potential to turn in to long-term employment. “The seasonal positions as package sorters, loadeers, delivery helpers and drivers have long been an entry point for permanent employment,” the company wrote in a press release.
