DHL Freight is launching a driver recruitment initiative to counter the shortage of drivers in the logistics sector.
The pilot project, which the company is opening at five locations, provides long-term career prospects and modified job profiles offering more varied work. Ultimately, the project will make it easier to absorb peaks at busy times.
As part of the initiative, approximately 30 new jobs were initially created at the German DHL Freight branches in Maintal, Malsfeld, Koblenz, Sehlem and Erfurt in the spring of 2018. The new employees take on driving duties to complement existing transport capacities and also assist with other tasks at the branches.
Particularly during the peak season, they will be out on the road covering the first-mile and last-mile legs of deliveries for their particular branches. If the concept proves successful, DHL Freight would like to create up to 500 new jobs in Europe.
Uwe Brinks, CEO of DHL Freight, said, “Our industry is currently being driven by an ever-increasing demand for transport, not least because of the continued strong growth in e-commerce. While we have sufficient loading capacity, we are noticing an increasingly urgent shortage of drivers.
“We have now adopted a far-sighted approach to addressing this problem with our driver recruitment initiative, which is aimed at ensuring that we can continue to provide our customers with the certainty and service they have come to expect from us.”
As part of the initiative, new trucks with a load capacity of 12 tons will also be ordered to provide drivers with state-of-the-art equipment and ensure sufficient transport capacity even in peak season.
In addition to well-known safety technology, the new vehicles will be equipped with a turning assistant. As part of the GoGreen environmental program, solar mats developed by the Group’s own start-up Trailar will also be fitted to the roofs of the vehicles.
These will power a range of onboard systems such as lift gates, helping to reduce fuel consumption by up to 5%. In the medium term, Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to improve CO₂ efficiency by 50% by 2025, compared with 2007. The aim is to reduce emissions of local air pollutants by making 70% of deliveries using clean delivery and pick-up concepts.
The initiative provides for a rotating deployment where the new employees will not be continuously deployed as drivers. During peak periods, they will absorb capacity bottlenecks on the roads. During quieter periods, they will be employed in the transhipment warehouse.