Chinese food delivery giant Meituan plans to spend 100 million yuan (US$14 million) to hire around 300,000 food delivery riders in preparation for a surge in demand during winter, according to a local media report.

Much of the recruitment funding will go towards hiring more food couriers in cities including Beijing and Shanghai, according to a report by state-backed local media outlet Shanghai Securities News.

The company will also bolster hiring in northern and northeastern parts of China, where its army of couriers is being stretched thin by booming meal orders amid outbreaks of winter snow.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Meituan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Expanding the size of the courier team will help Meituan with delivery efficiency at a time when increasing meal orders are pushing up demand for delivery riders, " said Chen Liteng, an analyst at market consultancy 100ec.cn.

Meituan is offering over 10,000 yuan referral bonuses for existing riders who help to recruit new team members. It is also working with talent agencies, supported by local governments, to expand the reach of its recruitment, according to the report.

The company has set aside a combined 1.7 billion yuan in winter delivery subsidies for its riders across the country. Meituan, with 6.24 million food delivery riders on its platform as of the end of last year, has been under public pressure to improve the welfare coverage and labour conditions of its workers.

Meituan's chief financial officer Chen Shaohui warned last month that sales growth at its core business might slow in the current quarter due to unseasonably warm weather that would likely reduce meal orders for the period.

At least 30 brokers slashed their 12-month target price for Meituan by as much as 49 per cent last month, with JPMorgan nearly halving its price target to HK$100 and downgrading its rating to neutral from overweight. Morgan Stanley slashed its target by a third to HK$120, although most analysts maintained a buy rating on solid fundamentals.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.