FedEx Ground has expanded its U.S. operations to six days per week year-round to cope with the increasing e-commerce demand and record volume that is expected for the holidays and beyond it.

The company is expecting another record year of volume for the holiday season and will be running six- and seven-day per week operations over the holidays, only this time, the six-day operations will stick around once the holidays are over. In order to meet demand during the holidays, FedEx will increase hours for some existing employees and hire around 55,000 positions.

“The rise in demand for e-commerce goes beyond peak. It’s a year-round phenomenon and we are ready to meet that demand,” said Raj Subramaniam executive vice president, chief marketing and communications officer, FedEx Corp. “FedEx Ground has operated six- and seven-day operations during the holidays for several years as e-commerce has grown, and thanks to strategic investments in our network, we are now well-positioned to operate six days a week in the U.S. all year to best serve the rapidly growing demand.”

Subramaniam said that the company underwent a several-year transformation, anticipating the growth that e-commerce would bring to FedEx’s business. This included opening more facilties and investing in technology and innovations to improve automation.

These significant facility and automation investments have been taking place for many years, but are now largely complete, said Subramaniam. “This expanded capacity and increased efficiency will create margin and profitability benefits at the same time that FedEx Ground capital investment will be decreasing.”