Tesco creates 16,000 new permanent roles after online shopping boom
Tesco will create 16,000 new permanent roles as it grows its online business to keep up with the surge in demand for home deliveries.
The supermarket said this morning that most of the roles will be filled by temporary workers taken on during the coronavirus lockdown.
The roles will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, as well as a variety of other roles in stores and distribution centres.
The number of new positions could grow in the next few months as Tesco seeks to expand its online business in response to heightened demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Restrictions on movement during the UK coronavirus lockdown accelerated the shift in consumer behaviour from physical stores to online shopping.
More than 16 per cent of Tesco’s sales are now online, compared to around nine per cent before the pandemic.
The grocer expects online sales of more than £5.5bn this year, up from £3.3bn last year.
Tesco UK and Ireland chief executive Jason Tarry said: “Since the start of the pandemic, our colleagues have helped us to more than double our online capacity, safely serving nearly 1.5m customers every week and prioritising vulnerable customers to ensure they get the food they need.
“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.”
Tesco had already added 4,000 permanent jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Today it said it will take part in the government’s post-lockdown scheme to boost employment among young people.
Tesco said it expects to hire 1,000 young people when the scheme launches.