Aldi to recruit 1,050 staff in 2021 with six new stores to open

The supermarket is set to open in six new stores this year, including one in Cork

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Niall O’Connor, group managing director of Aldi Ireland. Picture: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

Aldi is set to recruit 1,050 new staff in 2021, with 700 permanent positions and 350 temporary jobs.

The supermarket is set to open in six new stores this year, including one just outside Cork City.

Stores are Dunshaughlin, Douglas, Newbridge and Bayside, Dublin 13 will open in the coming months with stores in Cahersiveen and Killarney to open later this year.

Aldi has also submitted planning applications for six further sites, adding to the 145 stores that are already in operation. 

The company said that additional staff are required to help meet ongoing customer demand across its store network.

Aldi said that it has seen strong sales in the last 12 months, "growing by 15.2% and with over 1.4 million households shopping at its stores".

The employment opportunities are available at Store Assistant, Assistant Store Manager and Store Manager levels at different stores across the country.

Tánaiste and Business Minister Leo Varadkar welcomed the jobs announcement as he praised supermarket staff.

"Aldi staff and all other supermarket workers have made a crucial contribution to our country throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping stores open and providing a safe shopping environment for customers. I would like to thank them for their continued dedication and commitment during these challenging times.

Economy boost

“These 1,050 new jobs are a fantastic boost for our economy. These come in addition to the 500 which were hired last year and will mean four new stores will open in the coming months.

“I’m really glad to see Aldi continuing to offer both the living wage and sick pay to all employees, two benefits I would like to see more employers offering. I would like to thank them for their continued commitment to providing opportunities for Irish food and drink producers.” 

Niall O’Connor, Group Managing Director Aldi Ireland, stated: “Additional investment for 2021 in new stores, store extensions and Project Fresh store upgrades confirms our continued commitment to the Irish economy.

“Our ambitious plans require 1,050 new staff to join the Aldi team this year, so we can continue providing the best shopping experience in Ireland.

“We successfully recruited an additional 500 colleagues in 2020. We take pride in being one of the best employers in the country, currently employing over 4,500 colleagues and paying industry leading wages.” 

The jobs boost in the industry comes after a record setting year for Irish supermarkets.

Grocery sales soared in 2020 to a new annual record of just short of €13bn.

The figures from market researcher Kantar complete a picture that shows shoppers spent more at the five big supermarket chains and at independent grocers because there were few other ways of spending money for people who had kept their jobs.  

Last year, spending jumped to €12.97bn compared to the €11.17bn spent in 2019.