Tesco to create 16,000 new jobs to support online business

According to the company, the roles will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, plus a variety of other roles in stores and distribution centers

British supermarket chain Tesco plans to roles for 16,000 new workers in a bid to support the development of online businesses that have surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 16,000 jobs are in addition to the 4,000 permanent jobs which have already created since the start of the pandemic, said the company. According to the company, rhe roles will include 10,000 pickers to assemble customer orders and 3,000 drivers to deliver them, plus a variety of other roles in stores and distribution centers.

The British retailer employs over 400,000 staff worldwide. Currently, the retail giant serves nearly 1.5 million customers a week online, up from around 600,000 at the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, before the pandemic, around 9 percent of Tesco’s sales were online. The figure is now more than 16 percent of sales, with Tesco expecting online sales of over 5.5 billion pounds (US $7.2 billion) this year, up from 3.3 billion pounds (US $4.3 billion) last year.