This Diwali Flipkart and Snapdeal to hire 20,000 temp staff

 

This Diwali, e­-commerce majors and arch-rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal  expect to hire over 20,000 temporary staff to ramp up their delivery and logistics services to meet the festive demand.

 

Snapdeal plans to hire between September 15 to November 15, and these positions will mostly be in logistics to ensure smooth deliveries. The additional hands on deck this festive season will ensure that no deliveries are delayed due to manpower non-availability, said the company in a statement.

 

 

"During the Diwali period, all logistics centres will be functional 24X7 to receive, sort, screen and ship products. The  centres will continuously process orders and orders received even late night will be prepared for dispatch for next day morning, the company added.

 

"This Diwali we are committed to upgrade this experience further still by delivering within 1-2 days across most towns and cities in India," Jayant Sood, chief customer experience officer, Snapdeal, said.

 

 

The move comes as part of the preparations being made by e­-commerce companies as they launch offers to boost sales during the upcoming festive period.

 

 

"With the festive season coming in, we are confident that Big Billion Days (sale) will be bigger and better than before this year. In addition to having the new capability of alternate delivery model, we are looking at hiring more than 10,000 temporary staff in logistics and last mile across the country," Flipkart's chief administrative officer, Nitin Seth told PTI.

 

 

This will be done to meet the massive demand that Flipkart expects during the festive season, he added.

 

Asked about reports of the company laying off 800 people, Seth answered in the negative. "We completely and unequivocally deny any layoffs at Flipkart in the coming months... This is completely false and baseless. There are no plans for layoffs in any team in the coming months," he added.

 

He added that the company's hiring plans are in line with its business goals and that it continues to hire talent in key strategic areas. In July, Flipkart had sacked some of its "underperforming" employees. While the company had refused to comment on the number of layoffs, sources had said the number ran as high as 1,000.