Waitrose to add 4,000 positions

Waitrose has around 200 stores.

Supermarket chain Waitrose says it will add 4,000 new jobs as it embarks on an expansion drive.

The chain has entered an agreement with The Co-operative Group to buy 13 stores and Waitrose said it would open a further nine new branches.

The Co-op has been forced by regulators to sell some stores in exchange for winning approval for its acquisition of rival Somerfield.

Supermarkets are one of the few sectors creating rather than shedding jobs.

"There is a real weight of evidence that businesses that continue to invest during tough economic times fare much better when the economy begins to recover," said Mark Price, Waitrose's managing director.

More than 1,000 staff at the 13 Somerfield stores will join Waitrose and 500 further jobs will be added. The nine new stores will create around 2,500 jobs.

NEW JOBS Waitrose - 4,000 Sainsbury's - 5,000 Iceland - 2,500 Tesco - up to 10,000

Waitrose reported a 41% surge in total sales for the week covering Christmas trading.

Takings hit �111.3m in the week to 27 December compared with �79.2m a year earlier, suggesting spending was strong despite the economic slowdown.

The news from Waitrose comes as the supermarket's rivals push ahead with their own expansion plans.

Buoyed by its "best ever Christmas", Sainsbury's intends to create 5,000 new jobs this year.

The UK's biggest retailer Tesco said it would continue to open new stores in the UK in 2009, adding up to 10,000 jobs.

And frozen food retailer Iceland has bought 51 former Woolworths stores, creating 2,500 new jobs.

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