2 SISTERS FOOD GROUP is the latest food business to make an “urgent” appeal for new workers.
Chief executive Ronald Kers said the firm was looking for both temporary and permanent staff to help keep its supply chains operational.
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Along with unprecedented demand, food businesses face staff shortages as people must self-isolate if a member of their household is at higher risk or shows symptoms of coronavirus covid-19.
The UK’s poultry integrators and egg packers have universally said they are facing staff shortages as they attempt to get food to supermarkets, and chicken and eggs have proved particularly popular with shoppers stocking up.
2 Sisters employs 20,000 people in the UK across its divisions and supplies about a third of the chicken consumed in the UK.
‘Feed the nation’
Mr Kers said in a video post: “2 Sisters’ job is literally to feed the nation. Getting food to people has never been so important. As we come together as a country to fight the coronavirus, we need everybody’s help to keep our factories running.
“We urgently need people so we can keep delivering a full range of products to supermarkets across the country. We are recruiting now for a wide range of factory and logistics jobs up and down the country. Please join us and help feed the nation.”
‘Challenge’
“2 Sisters face the doubly-difficult challenge of demand for food from the UK public at levels never seen before, coupled with a crisis which dictates higher than usual rates of staff absenteeism for longer periods due to the need for self-isolation.
“This has brought about an urgent need for vacancies, both permanent and temporary roles. We have seen this across food and retail.
“We are hopeful that given the devastating effect this current crisis has had on the leisure and hospitality sectors, we can reach out to these people and persuade them that a career in the food industry can be both fulfilling and enjoyable.”