Athlone, Friday 16th October 2020 - Parcel delivery company to open two additional sortation facilities.
Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar today announced plans by DPD Ireland to expand its nationwide operations, creating 700 new jobs before the end of the year. Up to 150 positions will be based in their headquarters in Athlone and the remaining 550 drivers and operational personnel will be required to service deliveries to and from regional depots nationwide.
DPD Ireland, which is the country’s largest parcel delivery company, is expanding its central hub and sortation facility in Athlone following an investment of €1 million to its automation and routing systems.
The company will invest a further €1 million in additional driver scanner technology to support the anticipated parcel volume increase due to flow through the business this Christmas and has already spent €500,000 this year doubling the size of its depots in Cork, Kildare and Meath, with two more facilities opening in Dublin this month.
Speaking at DPD Ireland’s headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said:
"This investment from DPD Ireland, which will create 700 jobs nationwide is a fantastic boost to the country. Depots in Cork, Kildare and Meath have already doubled in size this year, attesting to the massive increase in online shopping we’ve seen during the pandemic. Athlone is the ideal location for the expansion to DPD Ireland’s facility due to its skilled workforce and high connectivity to the whole country. I wish DPD Ireland the very best of luck with this latest development.”
DPD Ireland Chief executive Des Travers said the company is actively recruiting at the moment and confirmed that the company has experienced a phenomenal increase in demand due to Covid-19.
“Our services have played an important role in these unprecedented times, with consumers ordering more online due to Coronavirus concerns. The new jobs will increase our workforce to almost 2000, enabling us to continue to meet customer demand.
The additional roles provide a glimmer of light against the bleak backdrop of the Coronavirus crisis, and we hope the expansion of our business will help boost the economy as a whole" he said.
The new jobs are in addition to 100 new driver roles announced in April of this year amid a surge in demand due to the pandemic. The company reported increases in deliveries of electrical goods of 800%, with pet food up 300%, and sports equipment up 225%.
About DPD Ireland
DPD Ireland is part of DPDgroup - the largest international parcel delivery network in Europe. With more than 77,000 delivery experts and a network of more than 46,000 local Pickup points, DPDgroup delivers 5.3 million parcels worldwide each day through the brands DPD, Chronopost, SEUR and BRT.
DPDgroup is the parcel delivery network of GeoPost, which posted revenues of €7.8 billion in 2019. GeoPost is a holding company owned by Le Groupe La Poste.
