Australia Post chief executive, Paul Graham, has urged people to order their presents now if they want them delivered by Christmas as the postal service struggles to recruit enough people for the holiday peak.
Continuing supply chain woes caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing effects of the Covid pandemic and labour shortages across the economy, were also making it more difficult for Australia Post’s booming parcels business, Graham said.
Speaking at an Australian British Chamber of Commerce lunch in Melbourne, Graham said Australia Post had already started recruiting the extra 5,000 to 7,000 workers needed for the Christmas peak, but finding workers was harder because of the tight labour market.
“Now” was the best time to order Christmas presents, he said.
“We’re ready for it, I think the merchants are in much better shape than they were over the last couple of years.
“If we get a similar sort of sales surge as we’ve got over the past couple of years there’ll be some challenges. If people keep their money in their pocket because of interest rates we’ll probably be in good shape.
“Hold on to your seats for the next six to 12 months, I think.”
He said Australia Post’s pay levels were “not a challenge” in recruiting the extra Christmas workers but the company was “really struggling like everyone else” to get enough workers.
In addition to putting on staff for the Christmas peak, Australia Post was also seeking thousands more drivers and forklift operators.
“We are all fishing in the same pool,” Graham said.
“I do think it will be tight. We are at 3.4% [unemployment] officially but I think it’s zero actually.”
The parcel business boomed during the pandemic as online shopping exploded in popularity, and Graham predicted volumes would continue to grow to more than 1bn a year by 2032.
At the same time, traditional letters have continued to decline, and now make up less than 20% of revenue.
Graham said that despite the e-commerce boom in Australia during the pandemic the country still had a lot further to go, with the use of online shopping here well behind European levels.
“We’ve only really scratched the surface and that’s going to put real pressure on our network,” he said.
He warned that consumers could not expect free shipping offers made by online merchants to continue because it was economically unsustainable.
Graham, who previously ran the supply chain for big supermarket group Woolworths, was appointed as Australia Post CEO in April last year, after the resignation of his predecessor, Christine Holgate.
