DP DHL welcomes 3,000th employee to European hub
Deutsche Post DHL is celebrating the employment of its 3,000th staff member at its key European hub in Leipzig/Halle. Today (25 July), the new worker was personally welcomed to the team by Walter Scheurle, board member for personnel at Deutsche Post DHL, who, in a symbolic gesture, presented her with a new employment contract.
“As the world’s leading logistics company, we take our responsibility towards our employees and society very seriously in every country in the world,” Scheurle said. “That’s why we are happy to keep our promise of continuing to create new jobs in the Leipzig/Halle region. The 3,000th employment contract at DHL’s Leipzig hub demonstrates just how attractive this facility is as one of the most modern express hubs in the world. It is also a testament to the importance of the logistics industry as a whole.”
A large workforce of professional is required to keep the facility running at an efficient level. Roles range from loaders and sorters – jobs which give lesser-qualified individuals the opportunity for work – to maintenance engineers and aircraft mechanics, and even pilots and other specialists with academic degrees.
Deutsche Post DHL said that nearly 90% of hub employees come from the Leipzig/Halle area.
“We are an important employer for the region and have given many individuals the opportunity to re-enter work,” said Eric Malitzke, managing director of DHL Hub Leipzig and director of DHL Hubs & Gateways. “With 3,000 employees and the wide job range, the hub also increases the region’s overall economic attractiveness.”
The company added that its workforce will continue to grow as needed. DHL also offers vocational training for young people in different areas of logistics and IT at the hub. The facility has 70 trainees currently working as air cargo sales agents, warehouse specialists, IT specialists and mechatronics specialists. Training is also offered in office administration and warehouse logistics.
The facility was opened in May 2008 after two years of construction at the Leipzig/Halle airport. Built for its express and logistics subsidiary DHL, the Group invested approximately EUR 300m in the new facility.
Each night, DHL’s European hub handles an average volume of 1,500 tons of freight flown in from all around the world. The sorting facility handles more than 100,000 parcels and documents an hour, and at 6.5kms in length, it is among the largest in the world.
The Leipzig/Halle hub offers regular daily flights to over 50 destinations in Europe, Asia and the US, making it one of the DHL Express network’s most important hubs alongside its Cincinnati and Hong Kong hubs.
