Hong Kong-listed JD Logistics said on Tuesday it had started hiring full-time riders for JD.com’s food delivery business, in a move aimed at broadening the subsidiary’s service offerings, according to a filing with the stock exchange.
Beijing-based JD.com launched its food delivery service in February following a trial last year, sparking a turf war in a sector long dominated by Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me. JD.com’s recruitment drive suggested that it urgently needed to strengthen its courier workforce amid heightened competition in the food delivery market, analysts said.
“With JD Food Delivery’s daily orders surpassing 25 million, the courier shortage has become increasingly apparent,” said Cheng Liteng, an analyst at Chinese e-commerce consultancy 100ec.cn.
For months, JD.com has been relying on its on-demand delivery subsidiary Dada Nexus, which counts 1.3 million annual active riders, to support its new food delivery services.
JD.com said last week it had hired over 120,000 full-time meal-delivery riders as of mid-June, with CEO Sandy Xu Ran expecting this number to reach 150,000 by the end of the quarter. Despite the rapid addition, these figures still lagged those of competitors with millions of delivery personnel, including both full-time and part-time riders.
