United Kingdom-based supermarket chains Tesco and Morrisons are expanding their online and food to-go services.
Tesco is hiring 16,000 new employees to assemble customer orders placed online and an additional 3,000 grocery delivery van drivers, according to The Grocer. The Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England-based company said it has already hired 3,000 new employees in an effort to meet much higher demand for groceries driven by the public reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“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 prioritizing vulnerable customers to ensure they get the food they need,” Tesco UK CEO Jason Tarry said. “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 U.K.”
The grocery chain, which operates nearly 7,000 stores worldwide, said it has nearly 1.5 million U.K. customers via its online services weekly, up from around 600,000 before the coronavirus hit the country.
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England-based Morrisons, which has nearly 500 stores in the U.K., is also expanding as a result of higher sales due to the economic changes brought about by the coronavirus.
Its new Market Kitchen service offers freshly cooked food prepared in-house available for take-out, pick-up in pre-packed portions, or via the delivery service Deliveroo, according to The Grocer. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the Market Kitchens offer a variety of food items including pizza, warps, rice bowls, and soups. Each Market Kitchen outlet requires around 50 employees to operate.
Thus far, Morrisons has launched two Market Kitchen outlets, both at stores in the London area, and it said it will look to open additional outlets in stores it identifies has having “high food-to-go- demand.”
“It means that customers can pop in and pick up their next meal while also buying the groceries they need for future meals,” Morrisons Market Kitchen Head Hannah Munns. “And, thanks to our partnership with Deliveroo, customers … will be able to enjoy their favorite dishes from our menu without leaving their kitchen.”
Photo courtesy of Morrisons
