UPS announced today it plans to hire between 90,000-95,000 temporary workers to handle the rush of deliveries around the holiday shopping season. This is a significant increase over the projected figure from 2013 and is part of the company’s all-out effort to avoid an overloaded network and upset customers due to parcel delays.
Last year, UPS initially said it was hiring 55,000, only to increase that figure to 85,000 in December as parcel volumes swelled due to massive increases in ecommerce orders.
The seasonal positions include package sorters, loaders, delivery helpers and drivers. UPS said some of the seasonal help may stay on as it assesses its needs after the peak holiday period.
“We have initial volume forecasts from our customers and are starting the hiring process for our temporary peak season jobs,” said John McDevitt, UPS senior vice president of human resources and labor relations in a prepared statement. “We have needs throughout the United States and anticipate more applicants this year than in 2013.”
UPS recently announced it was using a $500 million capital outlay to address demands on network capacity, include initiatives to increase sort capacity by 5% and up the delivery capacity by 10%. Plans also call for use of a mobile distribution center than can be transported across the country by rail, as well as modular additions that can add bays to existing facilities to handle increased demand during peak periods.
Related: Working to Avoid Another Holiday Shipping Disaster
In 2013, both Amazon and UPS offered refunds to customers who did not get their packages by Christmas Day, due to a combination of greater than expected parcel volume and weather-related issues just prior to the holiday.