Dixons to create 1,000 jobs

Electrical retailer Dixons is to create more than 1,000 jobs over the next year, it said today.

The group said most UK regions would benefit from the move, and the new jobs would be mainly in existing stores or new outlets.

Dixons said the jobs would include more than 100 posts in London, 200 in the South of England, 150 in the South-East, 120 in the West and Wales, 100 in Yorkshire, 100 in the North of England and around 40 in the Midlands.

The group employs 33,500 staff overall, in 12 European countries.

Chief executive John Clare said: ‘‘Our continued employee growth reflects the continuing demand for the innovative consumer technologies that we sell.’’

Last week, Dixons reported a 7% rise in underlying pre-tax profits for the last year but flat like-for-like sales - hurt by the fall in demand for mobile phones and continued weakness in the PC market.

The group, which runs the Dixons, Currys, PC World and The Link chains in the UK, said the jobs would be created over its 2002/3 financial year, which runs to the end of April 2003.

A spokesman said the figures also included 60 new posts in the South West of England.

Aside from new positions in its stores, jobs will be created at Dixons’ head office in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, at call centres in Nottingham and Sheffield, and in its logistics and distribution division.

Dixons also plans to take on another 600 staff internationally over the coming year, including around 70 new jobs in Ireland.

Other posts will be in countries including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and France.