YEP Says: Lidl 500 jobs for Leeds welcome boost

The announcement by grocery giant Lidl UK to build a new warehouse in Leeds is not just good news for employment, but a good sign of post-Brexit confidence.
Lidl.Lidl.
Lidl.

It is expected the new operation, on a 38-acre site in Gildersome, will create 500 jobs, bringing much-needed employment to the area.

Details of what the jobs will be and how much they will pay are scant as yet, but the German supermarket does have a decent reputation when it comes to being an employer. Earlier this year The Grocer, the industry magazine for this section of retail trade, ranked Lidl second in the list of the big supermarkets for minimum pay at £8.75 per hour (second only to Aldi which paid £8.85). It’s also the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket and has increased pressure on the Big Four - Tesco, Sainsbury’s Asda and Morrisons.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This warehouse is one of what Lidl says is a long line of new ones planned to open over the next seven years.

With Brexit’s deal or no deal hanging in a very fine balance people could be forgiven for thinking European companies would be less than keen to start investing on our island.

But this German giant clearly has no qualms and our £sterling is clearly as welcome as any Euro - and with almost £1 of every £8 spent in Britain going to supermarkets that’s quite a slice of spending.

Related topics: