Good news on jobs as Woolworths & Specsavers hire 6200 staff

After months of reporting job cuts (including yesterday’s cuts of 110 at boat builder Riviera and 170 from accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers) it’s great to be able to bring you some good news, with retail giant Woolworths and optometry chain Specsavers set to hire 6200 workers in the coming months.

Woolworths impressed the market with its latest results, posting an 8.8% rise in sales for the 27 weeks to January 4 to $26.1 billion.

The result showed Woolworths is moving even further in front of its rival Coles, which is now owned by Wesfarmers.

Chief executive Michael Luscombe told Business Spectator that the business is still going well, and that any further Government stimulus would be welcomed.

“Thankfully, it will be around about 12,000 team members added in the last half; we planned another 6,000-odd in the coming six months.”

“We’re seeing that our business in January is still trading at the same rate that we saw in the second quarter, and we welcome any government moves to provide further stimulus again in any manner of means, whether it’s direct contributions of various sectors of the community, or whether it’s through taxation at least for lower level income earners etc, or various things that they can do for retirees.”

Meanwhile, optometry chain Specsavers has announced plans to open 50 new stores in 2009 and hire around 200 people as part of a newly leased manufacturing and operational facility in Port Melbourne in Victoria.

The British owned chain, which set up shop in Australia in February 2008, expects revenue in calendar 2009 to hit $200 million.

The company’s positioning as a discount optometrist is helping it win market share in the current climate. The company has now stepped up this strategy by offering a $59 frame and lens package.