The news: Mercado Libre plans to increase its Latin America headcount by 28,000 this year, a 33% jump YoY, to solidify its dominance in key markets such as Brazil and Mexico.

The hiring spree is part of a record $13.2 billion investment in the region, executives told Bloomberg.

Follow the money: Roughly 90% of the funds and the majority of the new hires will go toward expanding operations in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina—Mercado Libre’s three largest markets.

• Half of the new positions will be in Brazil, where the retailer plans to invest 34 billion reais ($6.3 billion) in logistics, technology, and marketing. The country is a hugely important market for Mercado Libre, accounting for slightly more than half of its revenues in 2024.
• $3.4 billion will support Mercado Libre’s Mexico operations, a 38% increase YoY, country head David Geisen said last month. Most of the funds will be used to build ecommerce infrastructure, including additional warehouses and increased storage capacity for bigger, bulkier items such as appliances, TVs, and furniture.
• Mercado Libre will spend $2.6 billion in Argentina, up 53% YoY, also on logistics, marketing, and technology, per local media reports.

Our take: Mercado Libre’s investments in logistics infrastructure are critical to scaling ecommerce sales across Latin America and will help lower the cost to serve and improve delivery speeds.

• 95% of the products Mercado Libre sells go through its own logistics network, CFO Martin de los Santos told Bloomberg, which it has had to build from scratch due to the lack of existing infrastructure in Latin America.
• Those investments are helping to boost ecommerce penetration throughout the region, which in turn is enabling the retailer to maintain its breakneck growth and fend off competition from Amazon, Walmart, and other local players.

Go further: Read our report on 25 Years of Mercado Libre in Latin America.