Aldi to add over 20,000 U.S. workers in hiring push

Gearing up for the upcoming holiday season, Aldi U.S. plans to hire more than 20,000 new store and warehouse employees.

Aldi said Monday that it plans to host a National Hiring Week from Sept. 20 to 24, in which stores and warehouses will hold interview events to fill jobs. Available positions include store associate, cashier, stocker and warehouse associate at the hard discount grocer’s 2,100-plus stores and 25 warehouses in 37 states.

“As an award-winning employer, we know the importance of investing in our people,” Aldi U.S. co-president Dave Rinaldo said in a statement. “Employees come to Aldi for the competitive pay and opportunity to work for a growing national brand. They stay for the career potential and satisfaction they feel knowing their work makes a difference in the communities they serve.”  

Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi U.S. noted that it has lifted wages for store and warehouse staff. New average national starting wages for store and warehouse jobs will be $15 and $19 per hour, respectively, based on market and position. Employees also are eligible for a package of benefits that includes health care and retirement plans, financial wellness and employee assistance programs and paid time off.  

In addition, all hourly workers receive time off and pay compensation to get a COVID-19 vaccination. The company covers the cost for vaccine administration and provides wage-earning associates with two hours of pay for each dose they receive, up to four hours in total.

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The workforce boost comes as Germany-based Aldi pushes ahead with its multiyear U.S. expansion. In February, the company unveiled plans to open about 100 new stores in 2021, with a focus on Arizona, California, Florida and the Northeast. Nearly 100 stores were opened in 2020, which saw the grocery chain enter its 37th state, Arizona.

Next year, Aldi is slated to enter the Gulf Coast region, with plans to open up to 35 new stores by the year’s end — including in Louisiana, its 38th state. Also due to open in 2022 is new regional headquarters and distribution center in Loxley, Ala. The 564,000-square-foot facility, the company’s 26th regional headquarters and sixth DC in the Southeast, will serve up to 100 stores in Alabama, southern Georgia, Mississippi, the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana.

Under a $5 billion, five-year growth strategy launched in 2017, Aldi aims to remodel and/or expand more than 1,300 stores and extend its retail network from 1,700 to 2,500 stores by the end of 2022.

E-commerce expansion also is under way. Aldi this year aims to extend curbside pickup to 500 more stores, with the Instacart-powered service to be available at more than 1,200 stores by the end of 2021. The grocer began a 600-store rollout of Instacart pickup in May 2020 after an earlier pilot of the service. Aldi announced its online grocery partnership with Instacart in August 2017 and rolled out same-day delivery chainwide in the fall of 2018, with the service now available at almost all of its stores. The retailer also launched alcohol delivery through Instacart in November 2019.

Related:Aldi to open 100 new stores, add 500 curbside pickup sites in 2021