Supermarket chain Jumbo has almost 5300 vacancies. A gigantic and unprecedented number, according to supermarket expert Paul Moers. More than 5000 vacancies are available for stock fillers and cashiers, among others. “Customers will certainly notice that it is becoming more cluttered in the stores and that compartments are filled less quickly,” says Moers. “This is really unique, I’ve never experienced this before.” A Jumbo spokesperson sees no problems yet.
The Jumbo employs about 100,000 employees. According to a spokesperson for the yellow supermarket chain, they are always looking for colleagues for the stores, distribution centers, online delivery locations and the restaurants of La Place, which are also part of the Jumbo group. “With the approaching summer period, we have a relatively large number of side job vacancies to attract extra colleagues.”
“The difference between winning and losing is small and that’s a big problem.”
But finding new employees is almost impossible, says expert Paul Moers. Problems for the summer period are therefore lurking. “It’s a common problem in supermarkets to find people. When it comes to attracting employees, you also compete with the hospitality industry.”
And those catering businesses have just that little bit more room to give an employee an extra euro per hour. “Supermarkets don’t have that space. Net profit is below 1 percent, so you can’t just do something about wages. The difference between winning and losing is small and that is a big problem.”
Jumbo has about 700 stores, competitor Albert Heijn 1100. Yet the AH has considerably fewer vacancies, namely 3880. “The Albert Heijn has a better image, is more popular and therefore more fun to work with. The Jumbo really has to fight against that.”
“Nice story from them, but growing is stupid if you can’t get staff.”
A vacancy problem can make it very difficult for Jumbo, the supermarket expert knows. “The supermarket’s profitability is under pressure, La Place has a problem and the Hema is a huge problem for them.” According to Moers, they lack focus in Veghel. “They have grown enormously and want to tackle too much.”
And that they want to tackle and grow even more, the Jumbo spokesperson confirms. “Due to our growth ambitions, among other things, we are looking for various new colleagues to join us. This includes new store locations, but also expanding our online delivery.”
But growing is the last thing you should want right now, continues Moers. “Nice story from them, but growing is stupid if you can’t get staff. You must first fill in all the vacancies and ensure that there are enough staff in the store. Because with this unprecedented amount of vacancies, the stores will become cluttered and you will not be able to fill the boxes as quickly. And that is not good for the image.”
At the Jumbo they are still trying to be optimistic. “We are still managing to get the occupation right, so that all stores remain open and the shelves are well stocked.”
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