The UK's biggest grocery store chain is hiring 20,000 workers as it grapples with a surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic

Mary Hanbury

March 21, 2020 9:36 AM

Tesco, the UK's largest grocery store chain, is hiring 20,000 workers to work at its stores over the next three months.

Tesco

The company said it is bringing in these new workers to help it meet demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
The spread of coronavirus is having a substantial impact on supermarkets globally as shoppers flood to stores to stock up with supplies.
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Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, is hiring 20,000 temporary workers to cope with the surging and "unprecedented" demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

These workers will be employed to work in its stores for the next three months, it said.

"I'm so proud to be welcoming thousands of new colleagues to Tesco. Thank you to everyone offering to help as we work day and night to keep our shelves full for customers. The community spirit at Tesco is fantastic and together, we can do this," Tesco's chief people officer, Natasha Adams, said in a statement to the press on Friday .

The coronavirus pandemic is having a substantial impact on supermarkets globally as panicked shoppers dash to stores to stock up on supplies.

Earlier this week, Business Insider's Adam Payne reported that some of the largest chains in the UK were starting to ration food and reserve certain opening hours for the elderly to shop.

A number of grocery chains in the US have instituted similar shopping hours for the elderly and other high-risk populations at their stores.

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