UK supermarket Sainsbury’s announced it is nearly doubling the amount of seasonal roles it will add for this Christmas season compared with last year to meet the demand and needs of its customer base during this unusual year.
Sainsbury’s says it will hire 12,000 support colleagues as it aims to deliver safe, convenient and robust service to its cusomters.
“This Christmas will be like no other and the way customers want to shop for their celebrations has changed completely,” Clo Moriarty, Sainsbury’s Retail and Digital Director, said. “To help them find everything they need and shop how they want, we’re recruiting thousands more Christmas colleagues than in previous years. The roles will help fulfil online grocery orders, where we’ve more than doubled capacity since March.”
In fact, that growth is leading Sainsbury’s to 75,000 by March, including 6,000 permanent roles that will help support its online business, which it says will complete more than 750,000 online orders per week in the month of December.
Co-op goes electric: The convenience supermarket chain has procured its first electric vehicles for its new online home delivery service that ultimately will replace its fossil-fuel vans by 2025. Co-op says stores in Hebden Bridge; Holmfirth and Hove will land the first electric vehicle service, followed by stores in Ryde, Isle of Wight and Whitby.
Asda giving colleagues a break: The supermarket chain says it will not open stores on Boxing Day, allowing its employees to be with their families “in recognition of their efforts as key workers during the Covid 19 pandemic.” CEO and President Roger Burnley said all of Asda’s 631 stores would close for two days over the Christmas break, during the five day lifting of Covid restrictions.
Ocado sponsors ‘Gratitude’ for key workers: Ocado Retail has been confirmed as the second named sponsor for ‘Gratitude’, a public art installation developed by leading global public art producer Wild in Art, to thank NHS staff and key workers for their ongoing courage and dedication. Launching in Birmingham on 5th July 2021, the NHS’s birthday, ‘Gratitude’ will be comprised of 49 uniquely painted human form sculptures, designed by individual artists and sponsored by different business who want to acknowledge key workers. Many of those key workers are in fact supermarket employees, including Ocado’s delivery drivers.
