FedEx is expecting its busiest holiday shipping season ever and will hire 20,000 seasonal employees.
The announcement Monday sent the stock price up more than $2 to $82 at mid-morning.
The company usually hires about 17,000 seasonal employees, but will boost that to 20,000 this year to help handle the surge in holiday shipments at FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx SmartPost. Spokesman Jess Bunn said the company does not break out where the hiring will be “but I expect some of that would be in Memphis.”
The busiest day will be December 12 when the company will move an estimated 17 million shipments through its global network. The Memphis Super Hub handles express shipments. FedEx SmartPost is an arrangement with the United States Postal Service where FedEx does the line haul and USPS does the last-mile delivery to the customer’s residence. Bunn said “that business is growing like a weed for us.”
The company said retail inventory such as apparel, personal consumer electronics and luxury goods as well as books and other items from large, internet retailers will account for a large portion of its holiday volumes.
“As e-commerce continues to grow and demand increases with more customers shopping and conducting their business online, FedEx SmartPost is poised to handle the increase in shipments,” said Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx Corp.
