SALT LAKE CITY — By year's end, the nation's largest grocery store chain will add around 500 new employees to its Utah workforce.
On Monday, the Kroger Co. announced that its family of stores will bring on an estimated 20,000 permanent positions nationwide in its supermarket divisions.
Smith’s Food & Drug, a subsidiary of Kroger, will hire 486 new workers throughout its seven-state region of operation, including 148 store level positions in Utah. The company operates 47 grocery stores in Utah and employs about 7,000 workers statewide.
Also, Smith's is opening two new Marketplace stores in West Jordan and North Odgen that will add about 350 additional employees to that total, according to Marsha Gilford, vice president of public affairs for Smith’s Food & Drug. The new stores are scheduled to open in November and December.
"We're adding more employees to take care of our current customer base and our projected growth within our existing stores," she said.
Smith’s operates 132 stores and 82 fuel stations across seven western states, including Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.
Kroger employs more than 375,000 associates while operating more than 2,400 stores around the country.
“Kroger’s growth trajectory creates more job opportunities for current and future employees,” said Katy Barclay, Kroger’s senior vice president of human resources. “Right now in our stores across the country we have openings for bright, hard-working associates who are passionate about making a difference for customers every day.”
— Jasen Lee