Tesco says it is creating 16,000 new permanent jobs in the UK as it sees “exceptional growth” in its online business, delivering a rare boost to the struggling UK economy.
Britain’s largest supermarket chain said in a statement that the new permanent roles are in addition to 4,000 jobs it has already added since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
“Workers who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the pandemic will be offered the positions first. The jobs include pickers to assemble customer orders, delivery drivers and other roles in stores and distribution centres.
“As the supermarket’s online business continues to grow, the number of new roles may increase further in the coming months.” Tesco said in a statement.
UK CEO Jason Tarry also added, “These new roles will help us continue to meet online demand for the long term.”
The retailer now serves nearly 1.5 million customers online each week, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic. This serves as Tesco’s most notable growth in online demand as customers stayed at home during the pandemic, thereby accelerating a trend towards shopping for food on the internet rather than in stores
Online grocery sales have generally soared in the United Kingdom since coronavirus lockdowns were introduced in March, with retailers anticipating that some shoppers who have made the shift will permanently ditch their old routines. The opportunity was highlighted last month when Amazon (AMZN) said it will offer free grocery deliveries to Prime members in London and the surrounding areas.
Tesco said that before the pandemic, around 9% of its sales were online, a figure that has grown to more than 16%. The supermarket chain which employs 320,000 people in the UK and Ireland, said in June that it faced rising costs to adapt its business to endure the Covid-19 crisis, including spending to increase its online capacity.
The company expects the value of online sales to grow by two thirds compared to 2019, reaching over £5.5 billion ($7.2 billion) this year. Its shares have fallen 10.5 per cent this year, less than the almost 19 per cent fall for the benchmark FTSE 100 index.
Grocers and delivery services such as Ocado have also recorded growth in their digital sales as the pandemic has prompted consumers to order their groceries rather than travel to supermarkets to purchase them.
Tesco’s announcement on jobs will come as a welcome reprieve to British retail workers, who are contending with mass layoffs at firms like Marks & Spencer and Walgreens (WBA)-owned pharmacy chain Boots.
The company also plans to offer six months of work experience to 1,000 people under age twenty five, as part of a government-subsidized program.
Britain is facing a growing unemployment crisis, with the Office for National Statistics saying earlier this month that 730,000 jobs have been lost since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses in March. British Airways, BP and aerospace company Rolls-Royce (RYCEF) are among major UK companies culling thousands of positions.
