Domino's is about to go on a driver hiring spree as it gears up for its partnership with Uber Eats

• Domino's CEO says it will need to hire more drivers to deliver pizzas through Uber Eats.
• The chain announced a partnership with Uber Eats this month after years of avoiding delivery apps.

Domino's is betting on a partnership with Uber Eats to turn around its pizza delivery business. The chain just needs one thing to make it happen: delivery drivers.

The pizza restaurant announced its agreement with Uber Eats earlier this month. Selling pizzas through Uber represents a $1 billion opportunity for the company, executives said on an earnings call Monday.

But Domino's has struggled to recruit delivery drivers for years, CEO Russell Weiner acknowledged on the call. That means it will need to step up hiring and keep drivers to make good on its Uber Eats arrangement. Unlike many restaurants that work with Uber, Domino's will use its own delivery drivers to get orders to customers.

"We do not currently have the number of delivery drivers we will need for this incremental volume," Weiner said on the earnings call, referencing the rise in orders that Domino's expects as a result of the Uber Eats partnership.

The chain has made changes to training as well as added company cars at some Domino's locations, including electric vehicles so that workers who don't have cars can still make deliveries, executives said on the earnings call.

"Do I expect to need incremental drivers? Yes," Weiner said. "And yes, I expect to be able to get them."

Domino's, along with its rivals, has been facing declining demand for delivery in the US.

The company reported Monday that delivery for same-store sales fell 3.5% during the second quarter ended June 18. It also warned that declines could continue into the third quarter. But CFO Sandeep Reddy said the Uber Eats deal should reverse sluggish sales by 2024.

After years of balking at using aggregators or delivery apps, mostly under former CEO Richard Allison, Domino's announced a plan to partner with Uber Eats in mid-July. Under the deal, Domino's will be listed on the Uber Eats platform, but the pizza deliveries will be made by Domino's.

Weiner, who replaced Allison in May 2022, said on Monday's conference call that the Uber Eats deal will bring in new customers. That's been the case outside of the US, where partnerships with apps have become a $1 billion business for the company's international segment, he said.

"We believe these transactions will be incremental and provide a meaningful increase in a number of customers who leverage the Domino's delivery experience. Domino's delivered one out of every three pizzas in the US prior to our decision to compete in the aggregator marketplace," he told investors during an earnings call. "And our research indicates that most of the transactions we gain from participating in this segment will be incremental customers and sales. This has also been supported by what we've learned from our Domino's Pizza international master franchisees, who have already developed a $1 billion business, taking orders from aggregators."

Weiner noted that the Uber Eats deal includes securing "control of our customer data." Most aggregators do not provide consumer data to restaurants.