Traditionally, Christmas means a lot of work for Deutsche Post. The lack of labor is also aggravating in the north-east. The work also grows independently of the festival.
Rostock (dpa/mv) – The parcel service of Deutsche Post is currently running at full speed due to numerous Christmas shipments in the north-east. It was the “strongest week,” said Deutsche Post spokesman Jens-Uwe Hogardt on Wednesday of the German Press Agency. For example, at the Groß Schwaß delivery base near Rostock, almost 9,000 parcels and packages are handled and loaded into 34 vehicles every day. Normally there are 6000 shipments and about 24 vehicles. He called it “ambitious” to get a parcel to its destination in time for Christmas. Tuesday was actually the recommended deadline for posting a shipment.
Business picks up at the end of October and stays up until January, partly because of returns but also other gifts. In some cases, planning begins in the summer to increase the staff for the Christmas business, for example with temporary student workers, explained Hogardt. The job market is currently difficult. So they actually wanted to hire six more employees for Groß Schwaß. The waves of illness made it relatively easy to get through. A mask requirement continues to apply in the operating rooms.
According to Hogardt, in addition to the Groß Schwaß delivery base, there is another one in the Rostock area and one in the Schwerin area. A large parcel center is also located in Neustrelitz.
“The business is growing steadily.” The volume of shipments is increasing five to ten percent every year, said Hogardt. That’s why you invest and set up new delivery bases, for example. MV is initially not affected by this. “The population density doesn’t give that away yet.” Hogardt gave examples in Lower Saxony and Brandenburg. Large senders also shared their forecasts with the post office.
He also spoke of challenges with a view to the nature of the programs. People ordered dog food, cat litter, potting soil or crates of drinks. “Some use it to make the moves.” In principle, they are constantly looking for staff and are also trying to make work easier with technical aids, for example with modern scanning devices that show delivery routes, for example.
