Big Y hiring 1,000 workers as virus surge boosts sales
With a surging coronavirus and renewed restrictions on restaurant dining, supermarkets are preparing for a big increase in business. For Big Y, that means filling 1,000 jobs in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The supermarket chain is looking to hire full- and part- time workers at its supermarkets, specialty markets, gas stations, convenience stores and distribution center. Jobs needing to be filled to add to its workforce of 12,000 include cheese merchants, cashiers, bakers, pizza makers, wine and beer specialists and even store managers.
Industry analyst Burt P. Flickinger III said he expects supermarket revenue to jump 30% to 40% in the coming months, similar to sales in the spring shortly after the coronavirus began its sweep in the U. S. With a rise in sales, more workers are needed to serve a crush of customers.
In addition, supermarkets must compete with Amazon, Costco, Lowe’s and Walmart offering higher wages that in some cases are luring away supermarket workers, said Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group.
Business for supermarkets will pick up even when shoppers stay home.
“They would need more workers and team members to do the shopping and bringing groceries to the car for curbside pickup,” he said.
Stop & Shop also has posted signs in its supermarkets soliciting job applicants.
Supermarkets are coping with a churning workforce, forced to replace employees who quit, sometimes before their shifts end.
Grocery workers have been on the front lines of the pandemic, exposed to thousands of customers and the risk of contracting COVID- 19. At unionized Stop & Shop, the United Food and Commercial Workers negotiated retroactive premium pay the company had dropped in the summer.
Workers also have complained about abusive customers who refuse to wear face masks and keep their distance to reduce the risk of spreading the lethal virus.
Big Y touts its benefits, including one highly valued by hourly workers: a flexible work shift to accommodate parents, retirees, seniors and students.