Supermarkets frantically hiring more staff for deliveries

As the number of online grocery orders skyrocket, supermarkets in the Netherlands are scrambling to hire more workers in order to keep up with the demand and limit waiting times for deliveries as much as possible. Supermarkets hired hundreds of extra employees over the past weeks, NOS reports.

Not only do more customers now shop online for their groceries to avoid a visit to the supermarket and contact with strangers, their orders are also bigger than normal because they can no longer eat at work or eat out. Coop and Albert Heijn saw demand for their online services increase fivefold, they said to the broadcaster. Picnic's demand tripled. And Jumbo said online sales increased by half.

Jumbo, Albert Heijn, and Coop each hired hundreds of new employees. Picnic appointed 500 new employees over the past weeks, and will hire another 300 to 500 more people because of the accelerated opening of its new distribution center. "Three hundred of our new employees come from a catering employment agency. That's how we help each other a bit." Picnic founder Michiel Muller said to the broadcaster.

Because this scaling up takes time, some supermarkets are struggling to keep their delivery times reasonable. Albert Heijn, Coop and DekaMarkt have waiting times that can range from a few days to two weeks, according to NOS. Picnic had to scrap its next-day-delivery for orders that come in before 10:00 p.m.