Asda is looking to hire 15,000 seasonal staff to serve customers across channels this Christmas – including its much expanded online business.
The supermarket, ranked Elite in RXUK Top500 research, has more than doubled the capacity of its online delivery service during the pandemic, and in the week before Christmas it is planning to have 900,000 home delivery and click and collect slots available. Home delivery slots that week are set to go live to delivery pass customers today, and to other customers on October 28.
Now it is hiring 15,000 staff in order to fill roles including home delivery drivers (1,500 jobs), depot workers (500 jobs), as well as serving customers, picking and packing online orders in stores and filling shelves. Some of those staff will also be able to stay with Asda into the New Year to cover full-time staff who take holidays after the Christmas period.
Hayley Tatum, chief people officer at Asda, says: ““We will do all we can to make sure customers have a fantastic Christmas and recruiting an extra 15,000 colleagues across our stores, depots and home delivery service will help us to provide them with great products and excellent service when they shop with us during the festive season.”
With this news, Asda is joining a lengthening list of UK retailers and delivery companies looking for staff in a year already marked by supply chain delays and staff shortages following the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit. Tesco and Amazon are offering cash bonuses to new recruits, while John Lewis is offering free meals as they look to stand out from the competition. Research last week from job site Indeed suggests retailers looking to hire this Christmas will face challenges, with fewer candidates said to be interested than in previous years. There are currently record UK job vacancies, according to the latest ONS figures.
Asda also said this week that a deal to sell its forecourt business to EG Group would no longer go ahead. Asda will still, however, roll out Asda on the Move convenience stores at EG forecourts, targeting 28 this year, 200 next year and more in 2023. The Issa brothers – who co-own Asda alongside TDR Capital – started out by founding the EG Group, which they still own.
