Tesco opens new dotcom centre in Erith
Tesco has opened a new dotcom centre in Erith which will deliver groceries to customers in South East London and North West Kent.
The centre is the sixth dedicated Tesco dotcom facility to open in London in the past seven years and completes a ring of facilities around the capital.
It employs around 550 people, some of whom had been out of work for more than six months. Tesco worked with the London Borough of Bexley’s Resources Plus service and Job Centre Plus to provide eight weeks of pre-employment training to support the unemployed candidates’ return to work. 84 candidates completed the programme and have now joined the Erith team.
The Erith facility is the first dotcom centre to run a Regeneration Partnership programme for the long-term unemployed, and follows similar schemes in nearly 60 traditional Tesco stores.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “This is excellent news for London’s economy, not only creating 550 new jobs but also proactively helping many long-term unemployed people to get back into work. I would like to congratulate Tesco for joining forces with Bexley Council and Job Centre Plus on a scheme that will help to make our economy even more productive and successful.”
Simon Belsham, Tesco managing director for grocery home shopping, added: “We’ve found that an increasing number of our customers are using tablet computers and smart phones to shop for groceries online, so this facility allows us to expand our reach and offer the best possible range and service. The Centre has created hundreds of new jobs for local people and we were delighted to run the first Regeneration Partnership programme for long term unemployed people in a Dotcom Centre here in Erith.”
