{"id":678892,"date":"2026-01-07T01:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T01:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/678892\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T01:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T01:41:15","slug":"waitrose-to-create-550-jobs-in-bristol-as-it-eyes-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/678892\/","title":{"rendered":"Waitrose to create 550 jobs in Bristol as it eyes expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anna Wise, Press Association Business Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n

00:01, 07 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

\"AA Waitrose sign(Image: Anthony Devlin\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Waitrose is planning to hire around 550 staff to work at its new warehouse in Bristol as the upmarket grocer eyes expansion in the region.<\/p>\n

The distribution centre will open in early 2027 and be run by logistics firm DHL, which is set to begin recruiting in spring.<\/p>\n

Some 480 warehouse staff and 80 drivers will be brought in ahead of the launch of the site in Avonmouth.<\/p>\n

Waitrose said the new site would make deliveries more efficient for the 50 existing shops in the South West of England, and pave the way for expansion in the future.<\/p>\n

It is also hailed as the retailer\u2019s most sustainable warehouse building, with features including 1,200 solar panels on the roof and energy efficient systems.<\/p>\n

The retailer has committed to investing \u00a31bn over several years into growing the brand and improving its 317 shops across the country.<\/p>\n

Part of this investment has involved spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, including to reduce the number of manual processes for work across the supply chain.<\/p>\n

\"Waitrose'sWaitrose’s new distribution hub in Avonmouth, Bristol(Image: Waitrose)<\/p>\n

It has leaned into AI to identify what influences customer behaviour and their spending patterns, such as sports events, weather changes, and promotions.<\/p>\n

Waitrose has been increasing its share of the UK grocery market and now captures 4.7% of the market, according to the latest figures from research firm Worldpanel by Numerator.<\/p>\n

The average amount spent by shoppers on a trip to the grocer increased by 6.5% over the 12 weeks to the end of December 28, compared with the same period a year ago \u2013 outpacing gains by its competitors.<\/p>\n

The brand, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, will open its first full-size supermarket for seven years in Brabazon, a new neighbourhood in north Bristol, next year.<\/p>\n

It has still expanded during the period, but through convenience and smaller franchise stores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anna Wise, Press Association Business Reporter 00:01, 07 Jan 2026 A Waitrose sign(Image: Anthony Devlin\/PA Wire) Waitrose is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,3374,393,786,4884,363,206074,28908,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-678892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-employment","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-food-and-drink","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-retail","15":"tag-retail-high-street","16":"tag-south-west","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115851276021216757","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}