Morrisons is creating 3,500 jobs as part of huge home delivery expansion

In the chaos caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, people have been struggling to get certain essential grocery items, with some members of society stockpiling things like toilet paper and pasta.

The other side of this, is the people who can’t get out and about due to self-isolation, who might not have a support network there to help pick up groceries for them.

They’re relying on services like supermarket home delivery to make it through the next few months, but most delivery slots are booked up for the coming weeks.

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To help tackle this issue, Morrisons has announced it will be creating 3,500 new jobs as part of a huge home delivery expansion.

Around 2,500 pickers and drivers will be recruited, as well as 1,000 people to work in its distribution centres – there’ll also be more delivery slots added.

On top of that, another 100 stores will be utilised for shop picking, and people who might not be able to access online shopping will be able to ring up a brand new call centre.

Jim Barton / Geograph

David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “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.”

As for their current staff, the supermarket has pledged to pay sick pay to all employees, as well as redeploying anyone who might be vulnerable to coronavirus.