Santa Claus had to bypass a few chimneys last Christmas because his elves (read: UPS) had failed to load all the gifts onto his sleigh in time.
UPS attempts to rectify the situation this holiday season by nearly doubling last year’s seasonal staff, the company announced. The shipping company will hire 90,000 to 95,000 holiday workers compared to 55,000 in 2013.
A large influx of packages sent through UPS last year overwhelmed its system and delayed the delivery of thousand of gifts until after Christmas Day, according to USA Today. Bad weather conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area also caused delays in the shipping scheduling.
“The volume of air packages in our system exceed the capacity of our network as demand was much greater than the forecast,” UPS spokeswoman Natalie Godwin said last Christmas Eve. “As a result a small percentage of shipments are delayed and will not be delivered today.”
UPS has instituted a number of other adjustments to assure smoother and more efficient operations this year. The company will open and expand more locations, plus install temporary mobile sorting and delivery centers. It will also add thousands of new or leased delivery vehicles, trailers, aircraft and portable loading aids.
The shipping company will add more shifts and operations days including full ground delivery and pick-up operation on Black Friday and 50 new package sorting ships throughout all of its locations. Shipment tracking timing and accuracy will also be improved with additional and mobile app upgrades for enhanced information on package location and shipment status.
Seasonal jobs include package sorters, loaders, delivery helpers and drivers. All holiday workers will have the potential to become full-time employees for the company.
