Morrisons to create 3,500 jobs to meet home delivery demand

Morrisons is to create 3,500 jobs as it responds to increased demand and a huge spike in demand for online shopping.

The Bradford-headquartered supermarket has also made a number of commitments to its staff and suppliers to ease concerns about the impact of coronavirus.

Around 2,500 pickers and drivers will be taken on to expand home delivery, with another 1,000 people added in its distribution centres.

Morrisons chair Andrew Higginson

Supermarkets have been affected by panic buying, with a number of key products including toilet rolls, pasta, tinned goods and longlife milk being bought as quickly as shelves are being refilled.

The demand on online shopping has also soared, with delivery slots in many areas being filled for weeks.

In a joint statement, chairman Andrew Higginson and chief executive David Potts said: “We are currently facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainty dealing with COVID-19. Looking after our colleagues and customers is our priority, ensuring that we have a clean, safe place to shop and work.

“We promise to work as hard as we can for customers, suppliers, and all stakeholders to keep our shops operating as smoothly as possible.”

Last week Morrisons announced it would be implementing immediate payments for its smaller suppliers, using the supermarket chain’s strong cashflow to support that of its suppliers.

It has now revealed it is creating a colleague hardship fund, extending sick pay to employees who would not normally be eligible, and introducing sick pay, alternative shifts or holiday for staff who are self-isolating or have carer responsibilities.

Potts added: “We expect the days, weeks and months ahead to be very testing and we are determined to do our bit.

“These measures will support our very hard-working colleagues, enable us to provide more food to more people in their homes and create opportunities for people whose jobs are affected by the coronavirus.”

The unprecedented and uncertain impact of coronavirus made this morning’s reporting of its annual financials seem almost academic.

Profits were up for a fourth consecutive year, with pre-tax profits before exceptionals up 3% to £408m.

That was achieved despite group like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, being 0.8% lower. Total revenue was also down, falling 1.1% to £17.5bn.

It was upbeat about operational progress, including sales in its first 10 sites to convert from McColl’s to Morrisons Daily and the extension of its store on Amazon Prime Now to eight UK cities.

Morrisons said it was planning to announced another special dividend but decided “it would be prudent to defer the decision” to give it “maximum future flexibility” during the coronavirus crisis.