Shipper UPS to hire 95,000 seasonal workers
by David Koenig, The Associated Press
The positions will include package sorters, loaders, delivery helpers and drivers, with wages beginning at $10 per hour
DALLAS—UPS plans to hire up to 95,000 workers to help deliver packages during the busy holiday season—an increase from last year, when the company was caught unprepared for a boom in online shopping.
The Atlanta-based company said September 17 that the positions will include package sorters, loaders, delivery helpers and drivers, with wages beginning at $10 per hour.
In 2013 UPS couldn’t keep up with the volume of packages, and some last-minute deliveries were delayed until after Christmas.
“We feel like we are much more prepared this year to have better volume forecasting—we are working closely with our largest customers to get as close as possible to those volume projections,” Lytana Kids, UPS’ vice-president of workforce planning, said in an interview.
After last year’s debacle, some analysts suggested that UPS needed to adjust pricing or make other changes to avoid another surge in last-minute shipments. UPS officials declined to describe their discussions with key shippers.
UPS has taken several other steps to prepare for this year’s onslaught of deliveries. It has installed temporary mobile sorting and delivery centres and added thousands of new or leased trucks and trailers. Last year, UPS leased 23 extra planes, and Kids said that number would rise this year. It will add operating days and shifts, including a regular schedule of ground pick-ups and deliveries on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
