Aldi: supermarket chain announces push for 6000 new jobs with 2023 expansion

Supermarket chain Aldi has announced expansion plans that will create 6000 new jobs in the UK across 2023.

A number of the new staff will be recruited to work in distribution centres, though a majority will be employed in new stores around the country.

Shops in Huddersfield and Shrewsbury are expected to open in the next month, making them the first wave of Aldi’s expansion; new stores in Norwich, Newcastle, Castle Donnington, Norwich, Porthcawl, Newcastle, Whittlesey, Staines Upon Thames, Slough, and Southampton are all expected to be built in the coming months.

At present, Aldi is recruiting 450 jobs at its distribution centres. Aldi has 13 Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs) throughout the UK and Ireland, with notable locations including Swindon, Sheppey, and the East Midlands.

Aldi currently has 990 stores across the UK and employs approximately 40 000 staff. In 2022, it overtook Morrisons to become the fourth-largest supermarket chain in Britain. As part of that period of growth, Aldi experienced a 10.6% increase in sales across December 2022 compared to December 2021, signalling the growing importance of Aldi to the British high street.

Giles Hurley, the Aldi chief executive, said: "Demand for Aldi has never been higher."

Aldi also announced an increase in pay rates for around 7000 warehouse staff, with a new minimum starting salary set at £13.18 per hour. New store assistants at the supermarket receive starting pay of £11.00 an hour.