Domino’s Pizza Group PLC (LON:DOM) said it is aiming to hire 5,000 new staff after the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures led to a boost in sales.
The new positions follow an additional 6,000 roles at the takeaway pizza chain that were announced during the outset of the pandemic, as demand for the company’s delivery services surged as customers were forced to spend more time at home.
READ: Domino’s Pizza cut to sell as Citi says risk/reward skewed to the downside
Domino’s said it will also provide more than 1,000 work placements for young people as part of the UK government’s Kickstart scheme, which is designed to help younger workers amid a tanking job market.
The new jobs may also attract workers from rivals Pizza Express and Pizza Hut, both of which have decided to close outlets and cut jobs in response to a slowdown in business due to the impact of the pandemic.
Pizza Express is planning to close as many as 70 of its 449 UK restaurants, potentially costing 1,100 jobs, while Pizza Hut is currently negotiating with a restructuring firm over the future of 244 dine-in branches, which employ around 5,700 people.
Domino’s, meanwhile, has seen sales jump during the period of strictest lockdown in the UK, reporting in a trading update in June that sales from March 23, 2020, to June 14, 2020, like-for-like sales jumped by 5.1% compared to 2.3% for the period from December 31, 2019, to March 22, 2020, before the lockdown measures came into effect.
Shares in Domino’s were flat at 348.6p in early trading on Tuesday.