One in Three Coupang Delivery Drivers Takes a Day Off... 30% Daily Leave Rate

30% of Contracted Delivery Drivers Take Days Off
Over 6,000 Drivers on Leave Each Day
Backup Driver System Ensures Real Rest for Drivers

On August 11, Coupang Logistics Service (CLS) announced that more than 30% of all contracted delivery drivers working with its partner delivery companies take a day off each day, amounting to over 6,000 drivers. This means that one out of every three contracted delivery drivers is on leave on any given day.

Graph of the proportion of workdays five days or less per week by courier company. Provided by Coupang

CLS was the first in the industry to introduce a backup driver system to ensure that contracted delivery drivers can actually take time off. Through this system, delivery drivers are able to work five days or fewer per week.

Typically, courier companies hire temporary external workers only when there is a vacancy, rather than maintaining a pool of backup drivers. However, CLS operates a system in which partner delivery companies are required to secure backup drivers from the contract stage in order to be eligible for outsourcing. The stable operation of the backup driver system has been established through support from CLS’s own delivery workforce, known as Coupang Friends.

According to a survey by the Korea Logistics Science and Technology Society, 62% of CLS’s contracted delivery drivers responded that they deliver five days or fewer per week, an overwhelmingly higher proportion compared to other companies, where the figure ranges from 1% to 5%.

A Coupang Logistics Service representative said, “Based on CLS’s unique backup driver system and active cooperation with partner delivery companies, we are establishing a work environment where drivers can freely take time off,” adding, “At CLS, every day can be considered a day off for delivery drivers.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.