UPS had trouble hiring where Home Depot saw success
In storm-ravaged parts of New York and New Jersey, Sandy Springs-based UPS was having trouble hiring temporary, seasonal workers.
Holiday shipping time is the peak season for UPS, and it is hiring 55,000 employees to help move packages across the country and the world. But two weeks ago, the company was still looking for about 1,500 employees, spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said. The bulk of those were in New Jersey and on Long Island, the areas that were hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy.
Meanwhile, home improvement stores such as Atlanta-based Home Depot are having “good success” filling as many as 500 positions in the same areas, spokesman Stephen Holmes said.
“There’s a great mix of talent that we’re finding up there,” Holmes said.
Stores like Home Depot do big business after storms, as people need to clean up rebuild. Rosenberg said it was the increased competition from construction and home improvement stores that put UPS behind on its hiring plans.
“It’s a totally new competitive climate because of recovery efforts,” she said.
In the meantime, supervisors were going down to the floor to help move packages through the system, she said.
Monday, Rosenberg said UPS was able to meet its needs, and was not doing any more holiday hiring.
Both UPS and Home Depot said the seasonal jobs were often desirable because they often are a tryout for full-time positions. In Home Depot’s case, these 120-day jobs will run into the spring, when it typically does its own seasonal hiring.
About the Author
Arielle Kass covers Gwinnett County for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She started at the paper in 2010, and has covered business and local government beats around metro Atlanta. Arielle is a graduate of Emory University.
