Aldi to hire 13K workers as it grows its U.S. footprint

German grocer Aldi is hiring more than 13,000 store and warehouse associates to prepare for the holiday shopping season and help staff its rapidly growing chain of discount grocery stores. 

The company said on Wednesday that it is also raising its national average hourly pay to $23 for warehouse workers and $18 for store associates. 

“Our ability to attract and retain talent has always been key to our success, and we look forward to helping our new team members grow in their careers,” Aldi President Atty McGrath said in a press release. 

Aldi noted that employees who work more than 30 hours a week are eligible for health insurance, paid time off, flexible scheduling, and paid parental and caregiver leave. 

The company added that 70% its assistant store managers and 30% of its managers started out as store associates. 

Aldi previously announced a plan to spend $9 billion over the next five years to open 800 stores across the U.S. That includes the grocery chain’s purchase of roughly 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores from Southeastern Grocers earlier this year.

Aldi has been opening stores every month this year across the U.S., but its construction of new stores aims to grow the chain’s presence in the Northeast and Midwest, where it plans to open about 330 stores.

Aldi has opened dozens of stores already this year across the country, in Illinois, Ohio, Florida, California, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. As of Feb. 13, the company operated 2,357 stores in the U.S., according to ScrapeHero.com. By Aug. 20, the most recent data available, ScrapeHero put the store count at 2,401. 

Aldi CEO Jason Hart told Supermarket News in August of 2023 that the chain’s growth trajectory has averaged about 100 stores a year for the past decade and that the acquisition of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores “is a natural extension of that growth in the Southeast, a region where we have deepened our presence.”

“We’re focused on growing ALDI and intend for a meaningful amount of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores to continue operating under their respective banners after the transaction closes in the first half of 2024,” Hart said. 

The grocer plans to begin converting some of those stores this year, starting with a Winn-Dixie store in Lakeland, Fla., in early August. The new Aldi in Lakeland is a possible move on Publix Super Markets, which is headquartered in Lakeland and has a strong presence in Florida and several other southern states. 

Aldi said in August that it plans to convert 50 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets during the second half of 2024. 
Shortly after the Southeastern Grocers’ purchase was announced in 2023, Hart told Supermarket News that Aldi plans to make the conversions “a positive and seamless one for everyone involved,” noting that the company’s rapid pace of store openings over the last decade positions Aldi for a smooth transition.