FedEx, UPS Rely on Technology to Keep Lid on Seasonal Hiring - NASDAQ
Holiday hiring is expected to be flat at package-delivery giants FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., but that masks efforts behind the scenes to prepare for the coming wave of e-commerce orders.
FedEx is opening four new hubs and "dozens" of small, satellite facilities to receive, sort and ship an expected surge in packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas, executives said this week. UPS is expanding a network of temporary sorting hubs and is increasing its use of software to help sort packages faster, a spokeswoman said.
Both companies have also invested in automation so they can process more packages over the holidays while keeping staffing levels relatively steady. If their projections hold, FedEx and UPS will have kept the number of seasonal workers steady for two years running, at over 50,000 and 95,000 workers respectively, after sharply ramping up holiday hiring earlier in the decade.
Holiday hiring is expected to be flat at package-delivery giants FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., but that masks efforts behind the scenes to prepare for the coming wave of e-commerce orders.
FedEx is opening four new hubs and "dozens" of small, satellite facilities to receive, sort and ship an expected surge in packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas, executives said this week. UPS is expanding a network of temporary sorting hubs and is increasing its use of software to help sort packages faster, a spokeswoman said.
Both companies have also invested in automation so they can process more packages over the holidays while keeping staffing levels relatively steady. If their projections hold, FedEx and UPS will have kept the number of seasonal workers steady for two years running, at over 50,000 and 95,000 workers respectively, after sharply ramping up holiday hiring earlier in the decade.