24th Aug 2020 14:39
(Alliance News) - Tesco PLC on Monday said it will create 16,000 new permanent roles in addition to the 4,000 jobs that have been created since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The FTSE 100-listed grocer said the roles will support the growth in its online business and will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders, 3,000 drivers to deliver them, and a variety of other roles in stores and distribution centres.
In April, Tesco fulfilled one million online grocery orders in a week and now serves nearly 1.5 million customers a week online, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic. It noted that before the pandemic, around 9% of its sales were online with the figure now over 16% of sales. The retailer now expects annual online sales of over GBP5.5 billion, up from GBP3.3 billion the year prior.
Tesco expects the majority of the new roles to be filled by colleagues who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but who now want to stay with the business permanently. The company stated the number of new roles may increase further in the coming months in line with growth in its online business.
"These new roles will help us continue to meet online demand for the long term, and will create permanent employment opportunities for 16,000 people across the UK," said Jason Tarry, chief executive of Tesco UK & Republic of Ireland.
Tesco's announcement comes after major UK companies announced thousands of job cuts in recent weeks, notably across the aviation and retail sectors, due to effects of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Shares in Tesco were trading 0.1% higher at 227.80 pence on Monday afternoon in London.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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