Aldi to hire 6,000 people across UK this year

theguardian.com:

Aldi plans to hire more than 6,000 people across the UK this year, as the discount supermarket continues to expand following strong Christmas trading.

The supermarket chain said it plans to open 40 new stores in 2023, with Norwich, Newcastle, Huddersfield and Shrewsbury among the planned locations.

Aldi and Lidl, both German-owned, have improved their sales during the cost of living crisis, as shoppers opt for lower-cost options rather than for rivals with a larger range of products.

Both Aldi and Lidl have increased their share of the UK grocery market by a percentage point over the last year, according to Kantar, a data company. Aldi’s share of 9.2% means it is the UK’s fourth-biggest supermarket by market share, larger than Morrisons and behind only Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda. Lidl is fifth with 7.1%.

Aldi said sales during the crucial December holiday period were 26% higher than 2021, although during 2022 it also opened nearly 40 stores. High inflation also likely contributed to the increase in revenues to £1.4bn.

Giles Hurley, Aldi UK’s chief executive, said: “Demand for Aldi has never been higher.”

Aldi has more than 990 stores and employs about 40,000 people in the UK. The 6,000 new roles are across head office, new or upgraded stores, with 450 in its 11 regional distribution centres.

The hiring push at Aldi comes with UK unemployment near a record low of 3.7% and inflation still above 10% in January. Those pressures have pushed the supermarkets into increasing pay rates, with Tesco and Sainsbury’s among several stores to have done so.

However, Tesco also this month said it would cut 1,500 jobs as it looks to rein in costs. The UK’s largest supermarket said it will ditch night shifts in more than 80 stores and almost 40