Parcel carrier Hermes is investing £100 million in its UK operations to support the pandemic-driven surge in ecommerce.
The company will spend the money partly on hiring 1500 new full-time staff, including head office staff, drivers, warehouse operatives, managers and supervisors. Hermes also wants to hire a further 9000 self-employed couriers, who will be entitled to some employee benefits due to the company’s agreement with the GMB Union.
The funds will also fund new infrastructure, including an additional 90 new sub depots, new vehicles and brand new customer service technology.
Martijn de Lange, CEO at Hermes UK, said: “The pandemic has expedited the already phenomenal growth of online shopping and we see no sign of this changing. As a result, it is important that we have the right infrastructure and people in place to support this.
“This is good news for the many people who have sadly had their income affected and we are pleased to be able to support the UK economy with so many jobs at this time.
“In that first fortnight of lockdown we had thousands of applications from pub staff, chefs, children’s entertainers, dog walkers, pub singers, beauticians, hairdressers, pilots and many, many others. We look forward to welcoming our new recruits over the coming weeks.”
While Hermes focuses on offering a low-cost delivery option, rival DPD, which focuses on the premium segment of the market, has also announced it will invest £200 million on new vehicles and depots in the UK in a bid to meet new demand for online retail after the pandemic.
The France-based parcel carrier plans to spend the funds on expanding its next-day parcel capacity in the country in advance of what it predicts will be the largest ever Black Friday peak.
The investment will include £100 million on new vehicles, £60 million on 15 new regional depots and £40 million on technology.
