Competitor Watch
Delivery company Hermes says it will create 10,500 jobs in the UK after seeing a surge in demand from people shopping from home during lockdown.
This will include 1,500 full-time roles in its Leeds head office, warehouse and delivery network and 9,000 freelance couriers.
The recruitment drive is in stark contrast to the job cuts that companies in industries such as high street retail and hospitality have made in response to the economic fallout from Covid-19.
Hermes’ chief executive, Martijn de Lange, 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.
‘We are pleased to be able to support the UK economy with so many jobs at this time.’
He said the firm had received thousands of applications from pub staff, hairdressers, pilots and others who had been let go at the start of lockdown.
The German firm, which has operated in the UK since 2000, has a network of more than 15,000 self-employed couriers in the country. It said it was investing £100m in its expansion and had already opened 90 new sub depots this year.
The business says it has already started recruiting for all roles in advance of the busy peak season. Hermes say they expects parcel volumes to almost double in the run up to Christmas to 3.5 million parcels a day, despite the strain that the pandemic has placed on family finances.
