Third-party logistics firm GXO Logistics plans to bulk up its ranks for the peak shipping season with the addition of more than 22,000.
The Greenwich, Conn.-based company said the hiring estimate is expected to bring an additional 4,000 people in the U.S., 1,500 in France, 2,500 in Spain, 1,100 in Italy and 2,000 in the Netherlands. The bulk of the hiring will be in the U.K., where the company estimated it will add about 11,000 by the end of the year.
The U.K. is home to the headquarters of Clipper Logistics, the company GXO acquired for $1.3 billion in a deal that cleared a key regulatory hurdle last week. Clipper’s expected to further pad the combined company’s reverse logistics expertise, which is seen as a priority amid e-commerce’s continued growth.
“As we’re gearing up for the peak season, we’re also planning for one of the busiest returns seasons as shoppers look to exchange goods after the holidays,” GXO chief commercial officer Bill Fraine said in a statement. “The days of peak volume ending in December are behind us as consumers continue to extend the season well into the new year.”
The holiday positions are expected to be with the company into January to account for those post-holiday returns.
Fraine went on to say the hiring estimate comes in response to the company’s customer growth.
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Clipper and GXO count Nike, Zara, H&M, Asos, PrettyLittleThing, River Island, Dolce & Gabbana, Lacoste and Giorgio Armani among their combined fashion and retail customer base.
The two companies, following news of the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s approval of the acquisition, are now working on combining their two businesses.
A number of companies in the logistics and fulfillment space have begun preparing for the peak shipping season, with holiday hiring announcements of their own.
E-commerce fulfillment company Radial said this week it plans to hire more than 3,000 in Louisville and Shepherdsville in Kentucky, an important market in supply chain given its central location within the U.S. The hiring target follows the company’s announcement last month its overall seasonal headcount is expected to total 17,500, with more than 15,000 of those jobs in U.S. and Canada fulfillment centers.
Radial, which counts a network of more than 25 fulfillment centers, works with companies such as Tom Ford, Skims, Rag & Bone, Zara, Pat McGrath Labs and Puma among other brands.
Amazon said it’s looking to hire 150,000 workers to handle roles such as picking, packing, sorting and shipping. The estimate is about on par with last year’s seasonal target.
United Parcel Service said it will hire more than 100,000 temporary workers, in line with more recent years’ seasonal recruiting. DHL Supply Chain said it’s looking to add 12,000 for the peak season and will also boost its robot count to 2,000, up from 1,500 last year.
A pare back in holiday spending from what was previously anticipated comes amid cooling economic growth, inflation and more consumers turning to services spending, according to a forecast from Deloitte.
The tax and advisory firm said it expects holiday sales to rise between 4 percent and 6 percent from 2021. Holiday sales last year totaled $1.4 trillion, up 15.1 percent for the period between November 2021 and January 2022, the Deloitte report said.
Meanwhile, the forecast for e-commerce sales during the same period is expected to increase 12.8 percent to 14.3 percent, according to Deloitte. That exceeds the 8.4 percent growth to $231 billion in e-commerce sales seen last year.