Dive Brief:
- FedEx held its fourth job fair on Saturday, August 12, to hire part-time, permanent workers at its new Memphis hub, Commercial Appeal reported last week.
- The carrier seeks to hire 800 workers, at an average hourly wage of $12.62 an hour, guaranteeing 17.5 hours a week. Benefits include medical coverage and tuition assistance.
- The hub runs 24/7, with staff unloading, sorting and re-loading packages from roughly 250 flights a day.
Dive Insight:
Similar to Amazon, FedEx doesn't require training or past experience from potential hires, as long as an applicant can lift 75 pounds.
While 3PLs tend to hire for holiday positions starting in August, FedEx is currently seeking permanent staff to maintain its non-stop process of handling, which suggests that FedEx — like Amazon — is growing rapidly and needs more permanent help.
Even though Amazon's Jobs Day sought 50,000 new hires to work in its fulfillment centers nationwide, Amazon isn't the only logistics provider that needs workers fast: job fairs are a quick way to hire in bulk, and FedEx is experiencing a business boom as more consumers buy goods online and expect quick delivery.
But the fact that FedEx is also going on a hiring spree suggests 3PLs are expecting a strong holiday season, and that ongoing service needs will remain high. It's also possible that FedEx may look forward to a busier end-of-the-year, thanks to its recent announcement to drop seasonal fee rates for e-commerce shoppers, which may be a means of competing with the UPS Saturday delivery plan.
