FedEx is hiring thousands in Memphis for the holidays amid volume surge, COVID-19 pandemic
Max GarlandFedEx is once again gearing up to hire thousands in Memphis for the peak holiday shipping season, with the 2020 edition adding temporary pay bumps and changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had to adjust to a new environment, but that’s just the FedEx way of doing things,” said Shannon Brown, a FedEx Express senior vice president, adding that the company tweaked its package sorting operations to provide social distancing against COVID-19.
FedEx is aiming to hire 3,387 people in the Memphis area for peak season, part of the 70,000 FedEx wants to hire overall. Both goals are increases from last year, when FedEx wanted to hire 3,250 in Memphis and 55,000 overall.
FedEx package volumes are already elevated as more people order online during the pandemic and many passenger planes that could carry goods remain grounded. In July, cargo weight handled at the hub was 894 million pounds, an increase of more than 18% from the year before.
The available positions are split among FedEx’s different operating companies: 2,000 are for FedEx Express positions, 1,160 are for FedEx Ground and 227 are for FedEx Logistics. Many of the local openings, some being permanent positions, are for package handling roles at the FedEx Express World Hub.
The hub, located at the Memphis International Airport, employs more than 11,000 people and handles hundreds of thousands of items an hour. Airplanes and trucks bring packages to the hub, which are then processed and sorted by destination before being sent back out.
Pay bump for ‘tough job,’ shuttles to be added
Memphis hub employees will see their pay rise to $15 an hour with the installation of a “Pay Premium Program” and the 2% pay raise effective in October. The program does not have an end date yet. For around 500 input operations jobs that require additional training, pay will rise to $18 an hour via another pay premium program.
The $18-an-hour pay bump takes effect Oct. 11 through the end of peak, which FedEx estimates will arrive after the first week of January, Brown said.
“We understand it’s a tough job,” Brown said of why FedEx added the additional pay raise for input operations workers. “It takes a lot of energy, but we also tell them it’s a good workout, and you get paid for it at the same time. So those individuals in that organization, that’s where we put more of a premium to keep them motivated and show them how much we appreciate what they do in their environment.”
FedEx will also add shuttles in the Memphis area to transport workers to and from the hub for day and night sorts via six church parking lots, Brown said. He added church leaders “were very willing” to provide the lots to help those who needed transportation to work. These churches are:
- New Direction Christian Church – Hickory Hill, 6120 Winchester Road.
- Greater Imani Church Cathedral of Faith, 3824 Austin Peay Highway.
- Jubilee Church of God in Christ, 4555 Stage Road.
- Abundant Grace Fellowship Church, 1574 E. Shelby Drive.
- Mount Vernon Baptist Church – Westwood, 620 Parkrose Road.
- Pursuit of God Transformation Center, 3171 Signal St.
The launch date for these shuttles has not yet been announced. Busing isn’t a new development for FedEx, as the company offers shuttle services for workers in Mississippi and Arkansas.
Competition, COVID-19 among obstacles
Beyond sorting holiday gifts, the Memphis hub will also be vital in the looming COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort, FedEx Express executive Richard Smith said Tuesday. The hub may add flights and sorting work in between the day and night sorts to help move vaccines rapidly and reliably.
That requires additional workers, and FedEx is in competition with other companies hiring in the Memphis area for logistics and distribution operations, including Amazon, UPS and DHL. Brown said FedEx’s benefits beyond wages, including the chance to earn a tuition-free University of Memphis degree through the “Learning Inspired by FedEx” program and the company’s “promote from within” philosophy, give the company an edge in recruitment.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a volume surge for FedEx, but the company is also grappling with cases among its employees. The infection rate among FedEx employees is about 1.7%, a FedEx executive said last week, meaning some 8,500 workers have had the disease. In April, FedEx confirmed multiple COVID-19 cases among its Memphis hub employees, and some workers raised safety concerns.
The company said in a statement Wednesday it could not provide further details about COVID-19 cases at the Memphis hub.
FedEx has not disclosed COVID-19 deaths among its employees, but at least five employees at the company’s Newark, New Jersey, hub have died of the disease.
Smith said FedEx has enforced mask wearing and social distancing among its safety measures in addition to following all guidelines from states, localities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. The company is also checking the temperatures of hub workers prior to their shifts and providing free COVID-19 testing for Memphis-area employees.
“We’ve had to do a tremendous amount to ensure that our employees are protected from a safety standpoint,” Brown said. “…Whatever it takes to ensure they’re comfortable and safe and working in a safe environment.”
Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.