1,600 New Jobs Are Open For Kroger, More Coming: GA Coronavirus

ATLANTA, GA — Despite the coronavirus pandemic, more jobs are coming. Kroger announced Friday that it has opened new job opportunities to more than 1,600 individuals, with plans to hire an additional 500 in the coming weeks.

Kroger’s average hourly wage is $15 an hour. And with comprehensive benefits factored in, the company’s average hourly rate is over $20.

A little under two weeks ago the company shared that its Atlanta Division, which includes Georgia, Eastern Alabama and South Carolina, would be hiring new associates to help assist in providing much-needed fresh food and supplies to communities.

“We especially want to thank our associates for their untiring dedication and commitment to our customers and we welcome our new associates who will help us continue to serve communities during this unprecedented crisis,” said Felix Turner, manager of corporate affairs for Kroger’s Atlanta Division in a news release.

Kroger initiated its expedited hiring process two weeks ago to shorten the time between application and employment, onboarding new hires in an average of 72 hours. Kroger’s human resources leaders are working seven days a week to quickly interview and recruit new talent.

Additionally, the Kroger Family of Companies (NYSE: KR) announced it has recently provided new career opportunities to more than 23,500 workers, including those from the hardest-hit sectors like restaurants, hotels and food service distributors. Nationwide, Kroger plans to hire an additional 20,000 workers over the next several weeks to help maintain the supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“Kroger’s top priority continues to be uplifting our associates and serving our communities, whether that’s by ensuring customers always can find food and products on our shelves or by providing a nearly immediate job opportunity to help an unemployed person to begin working again,” said Tim Massa, Kroger’s senior vice president and chief people officer. “During this time of uncertainty, Kroger is committed to remaining a constant. We have a responsibility to our associates, customers and communities, and we will continue to be here…for any need.”

Kroger is also forming employment partnerships with local, regional and national businesses from the most-affected industries to create a shared-resource model to temporarily flex employees to Kroger roles, ensuring the food supply chain continues without disruption.

Current partners include Frisch’s, Marriott International, McLane Foodservice, Shamrocks Food, Sodexo, SodexoMAGIC, Sysco, Thunderdome Restaurant Group, US Foods and VF Corporation.

Globally, more than 553,000 people have been infected and more than 25,000 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Friday. Of that total, more than 86,000 confirmed cases were in the United States, surpassing China who had the highest cases since it originated. There have been close to 1,300 U.S. deaths tied to the virus outbreak. As of Friday afternoon, there have been 64 deaths in Georgia due to the coronavirus.

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