Lidl Ireland has announced that it will create more than 700 brand-new jobs within its Irish operations this year in a variety of operational and office-based roles across its network of 176 store locations, three regional distribution centres and Dublin head office.
These new roles will bring Lidl’s total workforce in the Republic of Ireland to more than 6,000 employees for the first time, with the retailer employing 7,500 on the island of Ireland.
According to the discounter, the new roles are being created to support Lidl’s growing footprint of stores nationwide and in line with Lidl’s ongoing €550 million three-year expansion plan first announced in 2021.
New Stores
This year will see the opening of a range of new stores including Kilkenny, Ballincollig, Bettystown, Limerick and the completion of a €75 million extension of the retailer’s Mullingar Distribution Centre, it added.
Commenting on the announcement, Maeve McCleane, chief people officer at Lidl Ireland & Lidl Northern Ireland, said, “After a roller coaster few years for the Irish retail sector, we are thrilled to be able to continue to reward the hard work and dedication of our employees by investing €14 million in pay rises.
"To recognise the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on our team members, we have significantly increased our investment in pay rises by 30% this year to support our employees as best we can, ensuring that we are offering the most competitive and all-encompassing suite of benefits in the jobs market at present.”
"Real Vote Of Confidence"
Welcoming the 700 new jobs at Lidl in Ireland, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, said that the move is a "real vote of confidence in the company’s long-term commitment to the Irish retail sector and the Irish economy as a whole."
"Given the current cost of living pressures that everyone is feeling, I’m delighted to see that Lidl is investing in giving their workforce a pay rise to support them," he added.
Pay Increases
Lidl also announced a €14 million investment in pay increases for its existing workforce in the Republic of Ireland with a further £3 million being invested in the retailers’ operations in Northern Ireland which it operates from its head office in Dublin.
All employees will benefit from an increase from 1 March 2023.
On average this will result in a 7.5% pay increase for employees, approximately between €2,000-€2,500 additional for every employee per annum.
This increase is in addition to the retailer’s commitment in October to paying the new Living Wage rate of €13.85 as recommended by the Living Wage Technical Group. Lidl was the first nationwide retailer in Ireland to adopt the Living Wage recommendation in 2015.
© 2023 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
