Parcel delivery firm DPD said on Thursday it would create 6,000 brand-new UK-based jobs and increase financial investment in facilities to satisfy a boom in online shopping triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a possible longer-term shift in retail routines.
DPD said need for its services had increased even prior to the UK entered its coronavirus lockdown in March, and had actually continued while people’s access to shops was restricted.
” We are experiencing the most significant boom in online selling in the UK’s history,” said Dwain McDonald, President of DPD UK.
” We are making this extraordinary investment in our infrastructure and people to ensure we can continue to fulfill the high levels of demand for our services.”
Amongst the jobs being created, there will be 2,500 brand-new full-time hires for positions such as in depots and management, and 3,500 brand-new chauffeurs are being hired.
It will also invest 200 million pounds (US$250 million) in its next-day delivery services.
Parcel shipment is among the couple of industries which is growing during the economic maelstrom caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain’s economy shrank by a quarter over March and April, and financing minister Rishi Sunak has admitted that unprecedented steps for government to help pay employees’ wages during lockdown will not be enough to avoid job losses.
However, some business are expanding. Recently broadband firm CityFibre stated it would create as much as 10,000 brand-new jobs over the next three years.
DPD UK’s McDonald said that aspects of the online shipment boom would be irreversible, lasting longer than the pandemic, which discussions with sellers signalled a considerable shift in behaviour in their models.
” It appears like there will remain a much higher reliance on e-commerce in the future – that’s going to be our ‘new regular,'” he stated.
