Hundreds of jobs pledged by Ocado over new base

Online grocery firm Ocado says hundreds of jobs will be created after it was revealed the retailer has secured a 55,000 sq ft unit in Stoke-on-Trent.

The company said the site, at Indurent Park Stoke Central, near the A500, was expected to be up and running later this year.

A spokesperson for Indurent said, after agreeing a 15-year lease with Ocado, the shopping firm had taken their final available unit.

Ocado employs about 20,000 people around the world and the firm said the new base in Staffordshire would enable it to "deliver to even more customers".

The unit taken by Ocado had solar panels on the roof and could charge the firm's electric vehicles, Indurent said.

Danny Kennedy, from the grocer, added: "While work has only just started, we expect the site will be up and running later this year, creating hundreds of new jobs in the process."

In February, it emerged Ocado Group was planning 1,000 job cuts, about 5% of its global workforce, over a year.

Chairman Tim Steiner had said a "significant number" of roles would no longer be needed as part of a restructuring.

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