Dec 18, 2021
Amazon disrupts as UK couriers prepare for tough Christmas
Yet again Amazon is the main disrupter as it challenges market leader Royal Mail in what is expected to be one of the toughest Christmases for UK couriers. With the labour market the tightest in four decades and worker availability expected to determine the success or failure of deliveries this season, Amazon has taken the initiative with bonuses of £1,000 to attract staff. The spread of the Omicron variant has also exacerbated the recruitment challenges, with Royal Mail worker absences almost double those of Christmas 2018, causing severe problems at delivery offices. MJ Sebastian, a delivery driver who works for an Amazon subcontractor in Milton Keynes, said the parcels he has to deliver have doubled since last month to 300 a day. Marek Różycki, managing partner at consultancy Last Mile Experts, said recruitment problems in the UK were made worse by relatively poor infrastructure that made courier work labour-intensive.
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