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Europa Press
Seville
Friday, 24 May 2024, 12:23
Mercadona now has over 20,000 staff in Andalucía. The clicks-and-mortar supermarket chain had a workforce of 20,091 people on their payroll at the end of 2023, which constitutes more than 490 new jobs compared to the previous year. Mercadona said that recruiting these workers onto "permanent and quality" contracts is a sign of the company's "firm and constant commitment to incorporating talent as a vital element to its way of doing business."
President of the regional government of Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, visited the chain's La Colmena business premises in Seville on Wednesday, the centre that handles all Mercadona's online orders for delivery throughout Seville, Huelva and Cadiz. Moreno was accompanied by Diego Ortiz (Mercadona's director of external relations for Andalucía, Ceuta and Melilla) and Víctor Sánchez (MD for La Colmena site in Seville), who explained how Mercadona's online business works today, following its launch six years ago.
Other dignitaries joining the tour were Rocío Blanco (regional minister for employment, enterprise and self-employment), Ricardo Sánchez (regional government representative for Seville) and the third deputy mayor on Seville's city council, Álvaro Pimentel.
The growth of Mercadona's workforce in Andalucía has gone hand in hand with the company's transformation, which began at the end of 2016. During these big changes it has consolidated a "more digital, productive and sustainable" business model. Since then, Mercadona has created over 2,800 new jobs in Andalucía, which in relative terms represents a growth of 16%.
During the visit to Mercadona La Colmena, Moreno highlighted the contribution of the food retail trade "to the revitalisation of the economy" that is being achieved by a sector that "employs more than half a million people" and which, "although we sometimes forget, plays a fundamental role in our lives."
Along the same line Moreno added that Mercadona is "a company that has known how to innovate and that has become strong by taking on the challenges that have arisen at any given time." One of these, the development of e-commerce, is what justifies a project such as building the Colmena site, "a real example of how to move forward with a new model for growth."
Mercadona also pointed out that its staff "are an essential asset for company growth". For this reason the company has mentioned that it advocates stable, quality employment, with salaries above the average for the sector (the minimum entry salary with the chain is 1,553 euros gross per month).
Alongside this starting salary, the company also wanted to ensure the spending power of its workforce, so last year it approved a wage increase in line with the consumer price index (CPI) of 3.1% in Spain. Mercadona also implemented a bonus scheme for achieving business objectives linked to company profits and to fulfil pre-agreed goals set at the beginning of the year between employee and line manager. An additional half bonus was given for improvements in production efficiency and management achieved during the past year.
Mercadona has 349 stores in Andalucía, three logistics hubs (in Antequera, Huévar del Aljarafe and Guadix) and La Colmena in Seville. In 2023, the company invested more than 122 million euros on refurbishment and efficiency upgrades on its stores and logistics centres in this region alone. As a result of this investment 77% of Mercadona's supermarkets had met the standards set by the company itself under its 'Efficient Store Model' scheme by the end of 2023.
In addition, the supermarket spent 3.864 billion euros with suppliers based in Andalucía (over 300). The most notable, locally-sourced purchases were milk (268 million litres), olive oil (70,000 tonnes), fruit and vegetables (over165,500 tonnes) and clams (190,000 kilos).
In the quest for energy efficiency and going more green, the company ended 2023 with having installed photovoltaic power producing 16,000 kilowatts across its stores and logistics centres. It also has EV charging points at 220 of its premises. As part of its social commitment, Mercadona donated more than 4,700 tonnes of basic food supplies to 212 social support groups in Andalucía in 2023.
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