Tesco, the British MNC groceries and general merchandise retailer, which has shops in seven countries across Asia and Europe, and is the market leader of groceries in the UK is adding 16,000 jobs to cater to the online increase of demand during the ongoing coronavirus times.
This is a rare dose of an economic boost to the struggling UK economy which has seen the closure of a lot of retail giants as bankruptcies are on the rise
The largest UK supermarket chain said in a statement on Monday that the new permanent roles are in addition to 4,000 jobs it has already added since the start of the coronavirus crisis. Temporary workers will be offered permanent posts first with openings in diverse portfolios such as delivery drivers, pickers for assembling of customer orders, and distribution center jobs.
Tesco now serves nearly 1.5 million customers online each week, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic. Its UK CEO Jason Tarry said, “These new roles will help us continue to meet online demand for the long term.”
Online sales of food items gained momentum as the fear of coronavirus confined people indoors and safe distancing became the norm of doing business. Lockdowns further added to the surge as people started adapting to the digital format of shopping. Amazon was one of the first ones to encash on the opportunity when it offered
free grocery deliveries to Prime members in London and the surrounding areas.
The figure for online sales has grown to more than 16% from a mere 9% before the pandemic, as reported by Tesco. The company anticipates that the value of online sales to grow by two-thirds compared to 2019, reaching over £5.5 billion ($7.2 billion) this year.
Big retail giants such as Mark & Spencer, Walgreens, and other players have resorted to mass lay- off due to poor sales and this announcement comes as a welcome reprieve for UK retail workers. The Office of National Statistics of UK painted a gloomy scenario earlier this month stating that 7,30,000 jobs have been shed since the coronavirus pandemic spread in March.
Amongst other companies that have cut thousands of jobs include the iconic company Rolls- Royce and British Airways
Tesco said on Monday that more numbers may be added to the jobs as the business is in a growth trajectory. Furthermore, it also plans to offer six months of work experience to 1,000 people under 25, as part of a government-subsidized program
