PITTSBURGH -- Sheetz Inc. said that while many employers have laid off employees or have put off new hiring, it will bring more than 250 new jobs to the greater Pittsburgh area during the next year, the company said in a statement. The unemployment rate in the region is 7.8% and inching upwards, it said.
The convenience retailer currently has 26 stores in the greater Pittsburgh area and plans to open or expand seven more by the end of 2012.
With two new stores opening in the Pittsburgh area between now and the end of January, the company is looking hire to about 80 new employees over the next three months, it said. It is scheduled to open its new Ross Park store in November, which will create 40 new jobs.
The other store is slated to open by late January 2012 in Lower Burrell, Sheetz district manager Linda Pacovsky told the Pittsburgh Business Times.
She added that plans include rebuilding and in some cases relocating the stores in Springdale, Rochester, Cranberry and North Huntington as well as Ligonier. Plans call for a Sheetz to be built in Mount Nebo next year.
Pacovsky said that depending on the store location, the rebuilt stores would employ up to 20 more workers. She said that the soon-to-be-rebuilt stores are each about 20 years old and need upgraded kitchens, among other features.
"We've outgrown them," Pacovsky said. "Our business has expanded."
Pacovsky said that these are not temporary, minimum-wage jobs, Pacovsky said in the statement. "Approximately three-quarters of these jobs are full-time jobs paying above minimum wage with great benefits and opportunities for professional growth," she said. "The remainder are part-time positions that are ideal for high-school and college students to gain work experience or for those only wanting part-time work.
The company has approximately 770 employees in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz, established in 1952, has more than $4.9 billion in revenue for 2011 and more than 14,000 employees. The company operates more than 390 convenience locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. It provides a menu of MTO subs, sandwiches and salads, which are ordered through touchscreen terminals.
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