Pizza giant Domino’s delivers 8,000 jobs in UK and Ireland

A Domino’s Pizza sign is shown on July 22, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Domino’s pizza has reported that its U.S. same-store sales have increased by 3.5% in its latest quarter of production. CEO Ritch Allison has said that the company will raise wages for employees, in certain markets and positions, at corporate-owned restaurants. Allison also noted that a lack of staffing and equipment shortages have been major hurdles as the company continues to deal with problems tied to the pandemic. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Brandon Bell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — US pizza delivery giant Domino’s unveiled plans Thursday to create 8,000 new jobs in the UK and Ireland after a strong pandemic performance.

The group’s British-based division added in a statement that it had thrived despite the ongoing supply chain crunch, high inflation and a challenging labour market.

Domino’s noted, however, that supply chain issues and rising wages were starting to impact the business, adding that labour availability and food cost pressures were set to extend into next year.

“While we see these pressures continuing into 2022, our success in managing them to date provides us with confidence that our growth momentum will be sustained,” said chief executive Dominic Paul.

“We’re proud to be creating new jobs to support that growth and today are announcing that we are recruiting 8,000 new colleagues across the UK and Ireland.”

The division’s sales boomed by almost 10 percent in the 13 weeks to the end of September to £375.8 million ($512 million, 442 million euros), compared with the same period of last year.

“We have built on our strong performance through the pandemic as restrictions have been lifted, with our collections business continuing its recovery and our total order count growing in a profitable and sustainable way,” added Paul.

Food delivery companies, including app-based Deliveroo and Uber Eats, enjoyed soaring sales during the pandemic as lockdowns triggered surging demand.

© Agence France-Presse