Amazon, Flipkart, Bigbasket, Other Internet Companies Bulk Up Blue-Collar Jobs Ahead Of Festival Rush
Major e-commerce companies and logistics services
providers have increased hiring of blue-collar temporary workers by about 50%
during the second quarter to gear up for the upcoming festive season, according
to estimates by third-party staffing agencies.
Even as the ramp-up by the likes of Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, Shadowfax and Ecom Express continues, businesses are being
cautiously optimistic and mindful of costs this year, staffing services
providers told ET.
These jobs are mostly temporary gigs in supply chain roles such as
delivery executives, pickers, packers, and sorters.
"E-commerce is one of the few sectors hiring today, but
the baseline has changed drastically...all e-commerce and logistics companies
are taking calculated steps," said Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder of TeamLease.
These companies are choosing variable pay models to cut down
on liabilities, including lowering fixed costs per executive, moving staff to
daily wages instead of monthly billings, and negotiating harder on the cost of
hiring.
This is largely because forecasting the way regulations will
be enforced amid the Covid-19 outbreak is a big risk this year.
"There is a stronger focus on
variable-isation and flexibility...companies don't want on-roll executives, and
they rather pay per job on outsourcing to keep the risk down," Suraj
Moraje, CEO and executive director of Quess Corp told ET.
The cost per executive hired has come down by
10-20% depending on the company, even as costs related to healthcare insurance
have been added, according to Pravin Agarwala, the cofounder of Betterplace.
However, Agarwala's estimates show that overall
hiring in the third quarter compared to the second has gone up by 50-60%.
To be clear, businesses hire a quarter in
advance to bulk up on trained staff for the festive sales season.
"Companies are looking at more
flexibility...for example, minimum fixed costs, with a bonus model,"
Agarwala said.
Earlier this week, Flipkart said it will create 70,000 direct seasonal jobs, while in May, Amazon said its India unit will add 50,000 seasonal jobs across its fulfilment and delivery networks.
BigBasket expects to generate 3,000 additional jobs, while logistics firms
Shadowfax and ECom Express said they will offer 30,000 new jobs.
"The Indian Premier League colliding with festive sales means a boom in
both food and e-commmerce," said Abhishek Bansal, CEO at Shadowfax.
The festive season sale, beginning in October from Dussehra and extending till
about Christmas, is the peak consumer purchase period. IPL begins on September
19.
Offline recovery weak
This year, e-commerce and healthcare have largely hired blue and grey collar
workers, while the traditional retail industry and daily labour segment has
taken a massive hit.
"By generating employment ...we're doing our part to drive growth in the
industry and the economy," said Amitesh Jha, senior vice president, Ekart
and Marketplace, Flipkart.
According to experts, the unemployment caused due to layoffs across the top
industries has more than offset the shortage, which was earlier expected due to
migration of labourers to their hometowns.
"Supply is not a constraint... overall labour migration has mostly been in
daily labour segment... these are not the type of people that work typically in
ecommerce," said Moraje of Quess Corp.
Chakraborty of Teamlease also said that youth from the retail and lifestyle
sectors were available, and although these openings may not be aspirational,
they will take it up given the current situation.
Sandip Ginodia , CEO
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