Domino's Pizza to hire 5,000 staff as Brits eat more at home

Domino’s Pizza has announced plans to hire 5,000 workers and 1,000 apprentices, with the pandemic strongly boosting orders.

The pizza delivery chain (DOM.L) said it would hire new chefs, customer service staff and delivery drivers. The company said the roles were on top of the 6,000 new roles it had already created since the coronavirus hit.

It is also planning to create around 1,000 apprenticeship roles for six months each, as part of the UK government’s funded “Kickstart” work placement scheme.

“It was a privilege to keep our stores open during COVID-19 and to now be in a position to offer thousands more people the opportunity to become a Domino’s team member,” said chief executive Dominic Paul.

READ MORE: UK employers have cut 695,000 jobs since March as unemployment rate rises

“We’re also delighted to have applied to support the government’s Kickstart scheme, offering young people the chance to get back into work and to build lifelong skills through our training programmes.

“Together, these over 6,000 new roles will help Domino’s continue to safely serve our local communities as we head towards the busy festive period.”

The company is one of a handful of household names hiring workers in the thousands as it scrambles to meet soaring demand, while other parts of the economy are struggling.

Logistics giants like Amazon (AMZN) and supermarkets like Tesco (TSCO.L) are among the other firms to have announce mass hiring sprees in the past month, with sales boosted by the pandemic.

But such expansion announcements mark a stark contrast to much of the rest of the economy, where a string of well-known companies have announced mass lay-offs in recent months.

READ MORE: 450 Pizza Hut jobs at risk as chain axes 29 restaurants

Hospitality firms including pizza chains Pizza Hut and Pizza Express have announced restaurant closures and likely job cuts in the past month, with demand well below pre-virus levels.

The latest official figures on Tuesday show UK employers have cut 695,000 jobs since March, and the unemployment rate edged higher to 4.1%.