Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) shares were up marginally early Tuesday following the announcement that the grocery chain would be expanding its workforce. Specifically, Kroger said that its family of stores is hiring to fill an estimated 11,000 positions in its supermarket divisions, including nearly 2,000 management positions.

Previously, Kroger created 10,000 new jobs in 2017 and 12,000 in 2016. These figures do not include jobs created as a result of capital investment, such as temporary construction jobs, nor do they include increases due to the company’s mergers. Kroger and its subsidiaries today employ nearly half a million associates.

In addition to job creation, Kroger is investing an incremental $500 million in associate wages, training and development over the next three years, as part of its Restock Kroger initiative.

Currently, Kroger has nearly half a million associates that it says services 9 million customers daily through its network of 2,800 retail food stores.

Tim Massa, Kroger’s group vice president of human resources and labor relations, commented:

Over the last decade, Kroger has added 100,000 new jobs in communities across America. In addition to fueling the U.S. economy, many of our supermarket jobs are an opportunity for associates to grow and advance their careers.

Shares of Kroger were last seen up 0.5% at $23.65, with a consensus analyst price target of $27.40 and a 52-week trading range of $19.69 to $31.45.

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