Online grocer Ocado has launched a major recruitment drive that will create nearly 2,000 jobs before Christmas.
Ocado is creating 1,798 roles including positions in business support, operations, customer services, service delivery, human resources, development & engineering, technology and planning and supply chain.
A large proportion of vacancies are for drivers who deliver shopping to customers' homes, and there are also roles available for grocery packers and loaders.
Ocado hired roughly 1,000 employees just before Christmas last year and on both occasions, the company has been keen to stress that the jobs are permanent, and not just to deal with increased demand over the festive period.
Ocado shares were up nearly 5% after the announcement, before settling at a growth of around 3.8% in trade.
Ocado has enjoyed big stock market success since its listing in 2010. Shares are currently more than twice their original value, having peaked at 600.5p in February last year. Meanwhile rival grocers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, and Marks & Spencer have all seen declining share prices in the last year.
Ocado's share price is also benefiting from expectations that it will seal a deal to license its software overseas, either with France's Carrefour, or US grocery chain Safeway. No confirmation of any deal has happened yet, but last month the company's finance director told reporters that Ocado is “still targeting signing a deal this year and it is quite imminent.”
