E-commerce companies offer temporary jobs to thousands amid coronavirus outbreak
- Business units of Alibaba and JD.com, as well as e-commerce start-up Meicai, have initiated temporary staff recruitment programmes
- Their demand for temporary workers followed a sharp rise in grocery deliveries across the country
Chinese e-commerce platforms are scrambling to hire thousands of temporary workers, as the coronavirus outbreak and government-imposed travel restrictions have increased consumer demand for online grocery delivery services.
Their recruitment initiatives include hiring part-time staff from small firms and restaurants, whose operations are currently struggling amid the health crisis and general business slowdown.
E-commerce unicorn Meicai, which delivers fresh produce straight from farms to restaurants and stores, announced over the weekend that it was looking to hire 6,000 truck drivers and 4,000 sorting handlers because its frontline employees are working at “full capacity”.
Founded in 2014, Beijing-based Meicai said this temporary workforce would be based at its warehouses and delivery centres. A company spokeswoman confirmed the recruitment drive, but had no further comment on what was previously announced.
Grocery retail chain Freshippo, known as “Hema” in Chinese, had earlier initiated its own recruitment programme for temporary staff from restaurants that have recently suspended their operations. This retailer, which has operations in 22 cities across mainland China as of September, is owned and operated by Alibaba Group Holding, the parent company of the South China Morning Post.