Logistics staffing isn’t expected to budge much this holiday season, with two of the largest sprawling retail and distribution operations in the U.S. planning to hire the same number of workers for the peak period that they did in 2023.
Amazon unveiled earlier this month that it is bringing in 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles across its U.S. customer fulfillment and transportation operations. Like Target, that is the same hiring total as the holiday 2023 numbers.
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For Amazon, the lateral move comes as the company is shelling out more money this year, with average base pay for U.S. warehouse workers increasing to an average of more than $22 an hour, up from roughly $20.50 an hour. All seasonal employees earn a minimum of $18 per hour. The wider pay increase is an investment of $2.2 billion, the e-commerce giant says.
Target announced in September that it was hiring 100,000 employees to staff its stores and supply chain facilities in the two-month stretch—equaling the temporary workers the retailer brought in during the three years prior.
One of the only major logistics businesses increasing headcount over last year is UPS, which is hiring more than 125,000 seasonal workers, up from the roughly 100,000 that were signed on as full- and part-time delivery drivers, truck drivers and package handlers last year. Hourly pay is at $21 for package handlers and driver helpers and $23 for delivery and tractor-trailer drivers.
The UPS total surpasses the 100,000 holiday workers hired in 2023, which was the first year after the company secured a new five-year contract for 340,000 union employees.
According to the parcel delivery company, the uptick in hiring was a decision made ahead of what will be a shorter period between Black Friday and Christmas, with four fewer operating days in the season than last year.
In an earnings call in July, UPS CEO Carol Tomé said the company is expecting the highest-ever volume in its network on Dec. 18, and already planned to implement new demand surcharges ahead of the crunch.
“When you have that kind of volume flowing to your network, you actually have to charge to service them well, because you have to hire people and lease aircraft and delivery vehicles,” Tomé said.
UPS’ move also comes months after the company cleared out some year-round staff to start 2024, laying off 12,000 employees and freeing up more room to pay temporary workers.
Geodis is escalating its own holiday hiring efforts by bringing in 3,700 seasonal workers in the U.S. and Canada, up from 3,000 seasonal hires last year. The France-based logistics services provider said it increased the number of workers in its 13 North American warehouses and distribution centers to help manage the expected rise in volumes during peak season. According to the company, material handlers and equipment operators are being recruited.
FedEx has not disclosed its seasonal hiring plans and did not do so last year. The company’s hiring plans may depend on the state of the logistics giant’s reorganization, with FedEx Express and FedEx Ground operations being streamlined.
DHL Supply Chain plans to hire over 5,000 additional staff and expand its automation by adding 500 robots to its network. The company says that the planning strategy remains “consistent” with the previous year. DHL is making these additions as consumers start their holiday shopping earlier, the logistics firm said.
However, a select few firms appear to be dialing back their seasonal manpower.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is cutting holiday hiring compared to last year, with the agency planning to bring in 7,500 workers for the peak period. This is down from 10,000 in the year prior.
Third-party logistics (3PL) provider Radial said to kick off October that it was planning to hire approximately 7,000 seasonal associates to support the peak holiday season. To close out 2023, the company brought on more than 10,000 seasonal associates.
Like UPS, Radial acknowledged it was adjusting to a shortened 2024 holiday shopping period. Seasonal associates at Radial’s 25 North American fulfillment centers will play a role in picking, packing and shipping goods to holiday shoppers.
The tepid holiday hiring landscape, outside of UPS, appears as the wider transportation and warehousing sector sees soft job growth. On a year-over-year seasonally adjusted basis, preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that September jobs across the industry total 6,603,900, up 460,000 (up 0.7 percent) from the 6,557,900 in the year prior.
