IRVING, Texas — 7‑Eleven Inc. and its independent 7‑Eleven franchise owners have hired more than 50,000 new convenience-store employees since March and are recruiting 20,000 more this year to work in its more than 9,000 U.S. stores as part of a COVID-19 pandemic-related hiring push, the company said.
“Hiring 20,000 more store employees allows us to continue to fulfill our mission to give customers what they want, when and where they want it, whether in stores or at home,” said 7‑Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto.
As an essential retailer, 7‑Eleven has remained open and has enhanced cleaning procedures and added extra safety protocols such as acrylic shields at checkout, floor distance markers, sanitizing stations and masks and gloves for employees, as well as giving customers the opportunity to use disposable tissues and gloves as they shop.
The chain has also scaled up frictionless mobile checkout technology to new markets, expanded delivery from 400 to 1,300 cities, added in-store pickup through its 7NOW delivery app and increased its U.S. store base by more than 300 stores this year, it said.
The store employee positions will also help meet the increase in mobile orders that the retailer is experiencing through its delivery app, which offers delivery of essentials and nonessentials including grocery staples like milk and bread, over-the-counter medicine, a range of food and beverage options such as pizza and Slurpee drinks, ready-to-bake meals, beer and wine in participating markets and more.
7‑Eleven also has supported its communities' frontline medical workers, first responders, students at home, and local food banks. The company donated 1 million masks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and 1 million meals to Feeding America food banks. Local franchisees have stepped up to help their own communities, offering free lunches to students who lost access to school lunches and delivering meals to hospitals, police stations and fire houses. Store employees also have handed out bags of essential groceries to residents in safely distanced drive-by events.
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2020 Top 202 list of c-store chains by number of retail outlets.
Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. is the largest c-store chain in the United States, with more than 9,300 locations.
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