Coles is expected to create more than 4,000 jobs in the next financial year as part of a $300 million investment in around 150 new and improved supermarkets, liquor and Coles Express stores across the country.
Coles expects around one-third of the new jobs will be in regional Australia. Key regional areas of investment and job creation include the Geelong region in Victoria, the Sunshine Coast and Cairns regions in Queensland, Wollongong South Coast region and Broken Hill in New South Wales.
Coles Managing Director Ian McLeod said the new jobs at Coles stores this year would be a mix of permanent, part-time and casual jobs this financial year and follow a surge in the percentage of Coles team members now on permanent contracts.
“Since 2008 we've invested over $3 billion in rebuilding Coles. We've opened 100 stores and refurbished a further 350 stores,” he said.
“Each new supermarket we open creates an average of around 100 jobs and every time we refurbish a store, we are also boosting our team and driving local employment.”
“Coles had made a concerted effort to invest in Australia and its stores over the past four years so the shopping experience was enhanced for customers.
“Five years ago, our stores were run-down and cluttered so we set out to dramatically improve their layout and transform our offer to customers.”
In addition to the new job creations, Coles was also indirectly contributing to the creation of employment among its suppliers.
Analysis by Deloitte Access Economics shows that in addition to the 103,000 team members employed by Coles across Australia last year, nearly 120,000 jobs are supported in the supply chain from the money Coles spends in the community.
"Our Australian First sourcing policy has ensured that our locally-sourced produce has grown 25 times faster than imports during the past four years,” McLeod said.
“As a result of this growth in our demand for Australian food and drink and by working more closely with our suppliers, we have contributed to the growth of many small, medium and large businesses."