UPS unveils Saturday delivery -- and 6,000 new jobs
Online shoppers, rejoice: UPS will finally deliver packages on Saturdays.
The expanded drop-off schedule, announced Monday, means UPS (UPS) to go head-to-head with FedEx (FDX) and the United States Postal Service. Both of those companies already deliver packages to people's homes on the weekend.
The change is "one of the largest in the company's 109-year-history," a UPS statement said.
It will also generate jobs. Saturday delivery is expected to create 6,000 new U.S. positions by the end of 2018, boosting the company's domestic operations by 1.7%.
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Hiring is already underway, spokeswoman Dawn Wotapka told CNNMoney, and UPS aims to open up about 4,000 of these jobs this year.
The move is a no-brainer for UPS, with online sales booming. Shipments from businesses to consumers represented almost half of packages delivered in the U.S. in 2016, according to regulatory filings.
Saturday delivery will officially kick off this month, though UPS has been testing weekend drops in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles since 2016.
The Saturday program will cover nearly 4,700 cities and towns by November -- just in time for the holiday shopping season -- and will include 5,800 locations by the end of 2018, the company said.