Iceland embarks upon online delivery hiring spree

Iceland has announced the creation of more than 3,000 new jobs as it looks to meet the demand for online shopping created by the coronavirus outbreak.

It will be bringing in additional delivery drivers as well as expanding the supporting in-store teams.

The retailer says that demand for deliveries increased four-fold after the lockdown was announced, with e-commerce orders jumping 300% since August last year. As a result, it is increasing its delivery fleet by just under a third.

Iceland is also partnering with Uber Eats in London to make deliveries from its Hackney store. Iceland Foods Chief Customer and Digital Officer David Devany says: “We’ve been blown away by the demand for deliveries over the past six months.”

“We see no sign of a slowdown in the demand for deliveries in the run up to Christmas, so a recruitment drive for more permanent staff was essential.”

Urgent you say?

Iceland boss Richard Walker has taken to Twitter to question the government’s announcement that social gatherings of more than six people will be illegal in England from Monday - with some exemptions - amid a steep rise in coronavirus cases.