By Business & Finance 
DPD Ireland, the country’s largest dedicated parcel delivery company, has announced the creation of 120 new jobs.
The jobs come on the back of sustained growth and expansion at DPD Ireland, and form part of a €2 million investment at the company’s central sortation hub in Athlone, bringing total investment in the facility to €38 million.
The company aims to significantly scale up its Irish operations by increasing its sorting capacity in Athlone and boosting staff numbers in the country from 1,720 to 1,840 employees.
This is a further expansion on the facility, which was originally opened in 2006, and was extended in 2017. It has increased capacity by 20% ensuring that DPD Ireland is fully equipped to manage their ever-increasing parcel volume, even in their busiest peak period, and for the foreseeable.
Over the peak period, DPD Ireland will see upwards of 170,000 parcels processed per day throughout its network of 34 Irish depots. A total of 21,000 parcels will be sorted per hour, versus the regular non-peak parcel volumes of 14,000 per hour.
The jobs were announced by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, who officially opened the expanded hub yesterday. The roles consist of drivers, sortation staff in the regional networks, night staff at the Athlone hub and admin staff throughout the country, with recruitment for the new jobs to begin immediately.
Minister Humphreys commented:
This is a very significant announcement of new jobs not only in Athlone and the Midlands region, but nationwide. Through my Department’s Regional Enterprise Plans, and the productive collaboration that they are supporting in the Midlands and beyond, my aim is to further enhance the potential for regional enterprise growth. As Chair of the Retail Consultation Forum, I am especially keen that retailers all over Ireland are positioned to take advantage of the digital transformation in that sector. This offers huge potential for growth, as DPD’s announcement demonstrates. I want to congratulate DPD on their expansion and look forward to seeing their jobs having a big impact.”
DPD Ireland chief executive Des Travers said the jobs announcement reflects a period of sustained growth in the business, with increased online shopping leading to a rise in parcel deliveries:
We are on track to deliver 22 million parcels this year, up from 19 million last year, and boosting our team will allow us to scale up faster. Irish retailers are continuing to improve their online presence, offering consumers a better choice, and as a result, deliveries are up and our turnover is expected to be €100 million.”
