FedEx hiring 2,500 in Memphis in prep for holiday peak

It's the calm before the storm at the FedEx Express world hub in Memphis.

On a Tuesday morning in mid-October, it's buzzing with activity, but nothing like it will be when holiday packages start flowing through around Thanksgiving.

FedEx officials took advantage of the relative lull Tuesday to call attention to plans to take on 2,500 seasonal workers in the Memphis area for the upcoming peak season.

"We will hire 2,500 around the Memphis area, but a big chunk of that will be here," said senior manager of operations Walter Kirkeminde, standing on the ramp in front of a Boeing 777 Freighter that had just landed and was waiting to be unloaded. "This is the biggest thing in the FedEx universe."

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Kirkeminde said the holiday hires will be in addition to about 11,000 people who staff the 880-acre world hub  at Memphis International Airport year-round. Nationally, the company is hiring more than 50,000, primarily to help with higher volumes in the trucking-based FedEx Ground network.

FedEx hasn't announced projections for peak-season volumes, but the company expects the four Mondays after Thanksgiving to be among the busiest in its history.

FedEx's local hiring effort is part of a seasonal employment push by Memphis area logistics and transportation companies. FedEx and five other companies say they'll hire more than 12,000 workers this fall.

FedEx hires year-round because the company is growing, but "We kind of redouble our efforts going into the peak season because that's our Super Bowl," Kirkeminde said.

This year's peak season finds the Memphis metro area unemployment rate at the lowest point since before the Great Recession hit in 2008. It stood at 5.5 percent for the 9-county Memphis metro area in August.

Kirkeminde said he believes FedEx has a leg up on other employers because it offers workers a proven career path. Many employees come in as package handlers and rise through the ranks, he said.

For example, Kirkeminde joined the company as a package handler at the hub while attending University of Memphis in 1999 and eventually moved into management.

The company also offers a competitive pay scale and good benefits for full-time workers and longer-tenured part-timers, Kirkeminde said.

"Certainly the opportunity is there for them to stay on in a permanent position," Kirkeminde said.

Job requirements at the hub include being able to lift 75 pounds unassisted, good communications skills and the ability to pass a Transportation Security Administration background check, Kirkeminde said.

Applications are being taken at careers.fedex.com.