Tesco has announced that it is creating 16,000 new permanent jobs to cope with the growth in demand for online grocery shopping during the Coronavirus.

Britain’s largest supermarket said that the roles will include 10,000 pickers to compile customers’ online orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, with further roles in distribution centres and stores.

These are in addition to the 4,000 permanent jobs already created since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move comes after a period of “exceptional growth” in its online business, as shoppers switched to alternatives and continued to use online channels, even as lockdown restrictions eased.

The supermarket expects the majority of these roles to be filled by colleagues who joined on a temporary basis at the start of the pandemic, but who now want to stay with the business permanently.

Roles will first be offered to these temporary colleagues, with remaining vacancies then recruited externally.

In April, Tesco became the first retailer to fulfil one million online grocery orders in a week. Tesco now serves nearly 1.5 million customers a week online, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic.

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 1.5 million 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.”

Share Story: