German supermarket giant Aldi said Monday that it plans to create 2,000 jobs in the UK next year, expanding despite supply chain pressures elsewhere in the retail sector.
The new £1.3-billion (1.5-billion-euro, $1.8-billion) investment will see it open 100 new branches over the next two years, the group said in a statement.
Aldi UK and Ireland, which has enjoyed booming sales during the coronavirus pandemic, has already created 7,000 jobs over the last two years.
The group has also weathered Britain’s supply chain crunch as a result of its smaller number of both product ranges and suppliers, it said.
Aldi also improved pay for its own lorry drivers amid an ongoing HGV driver shortage in Britain.
“It’s difficult to believe that anyone could be immune from the supply challenges we are seeing,” said Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley.
“But our business is pretty unique and ultimately well positioned to deal with these issues because of our reduced number of suppliers and smaller range.”
Aldi said that sales soared by 10.2 percent in the region to £12.3 billion last year.
The group currently has 41,000 employees and 920 stores in the UK and Ireland.
Hurley said the group and its suppliers had not been impacted by current UK disruption to motor fuel supplies, and he said that its depots were fully stocked.
