Help Wanted: Logistics providers boost warehousing staff for peak season

Logistics services providers are bulking up their teams for peak holiday shipping season, adding thousands of warehousing jobs at locations around the world.

Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics, Inc. said this week it plans to hire 22,000 people by the end of this year to support global warehouse operations, in response to record growth this year and to prepare for the peak holiday season. The company said many of the added jobs will continue into January 2023 to support the post-holiday returns season.

“Our hiring plans reflect a record year of customer growth,” GXO’s Chief Commercial Officer Bill Fraine said in a press release Thursday. “A great peak starts with planning and requires real-time agility to adapt to market demand. As we’re gearing up for the peak season, we’re also planning for one of the busiest return seasons as shoppers look to exchange goods after the holidays. The days of peak volume ending in December are behind us as consumers continue to extend the season well into the new year.”

GXO said it will hire approximately 11,000 team members in the U.K., 4,000 in the U.S., 1,500 in France, 2,500 in Spain, 1,100 in Italy and 2,000 in The Netherlands, among other locations.

DHL Supply Chain is adding seasonal staff as well, with plans to hire 12,000 additional associates for peak season. The company said three-quarters of those jobs will be in its warehouses that cater to retail and c-commerce customers.

“We are seeing a return to pre-pandemic growth rates as the pent up demand that fueled the high surges has been tapering off in most product categories. Nonetheless we expect volumes to remain strong,” Scott Sureddin, CEO of DHL Supply Chain, said in a press release earlier this month. “It is with this in mind that we have made substantial investments to provide the resources needed to support both our customers and employees.”

DHL Supply Chain has also boosted its technology profile to handle peak demands. This peak season, the company will use 2,000 collaborative robots to help offset industry-wide labor challenges and increase efficiency. The company used about 1,500 collaborative robots during last year’s peak.

“Last peak season our collaborative robots played a key role in our success; they helped to improve throughput by up to 20%,” according to Sally Miller, CIO, DHL Supply Chain. “Additionally, the feedback from our associates has been overwhelmingly positive as they are able to maintain consistent productivity levels throughout the day thanks to the reduction of their walking time by 60%.”