Delivery firm DPD and B&Q owner Kingfisher are hiring thousands of new employees to cope with the surge in online shopping over the lockdown period.
Both companies will hire a total of 7,500 new staff members including drivers, warehouse and management roles.
DPD, which works with companies including John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Asos, is investing £200m this year in order to expand its next-day delivery service.
“We are experiencing the biggest boom in online retailing in the UK’s history,” said Dwain McDonald, DPD boss. “Since this began, we have been handling parcel volumes more akin to the festive seasonal peak than this time of year.”
“I do think the High Street will bounce back from where things are now, but we have to base our modelling on our conversations with retailers and their projections.”
“But what we have seen in recent months is potentially a much more significant shift in behaviour, and we believe elements of it will be permanent,” he added.
Kingfisher has announced plans to hire an extra 3,000 to 4,000 employees as the group saw online sales surge during April and May.
These roles are to be temporary over the summer period, said chief executive Thierry Garnier. However, he will “watch what happens” over the next few months.
The news from DPD and Kingfisher comes following weeks of companies announcing wide-scale job cuts. British Gas owner Centrica, BP, and British Airways have announced redundancy plans that will affect thousands across the UK and globally.
Shares in Kingfisher (LON: KGF) are trading -1.25% at 213.20 (1018GMT).
