Retailer's expansion an engine for job creation

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General said Monday that it expects to create at least 8,000 career opportunities in the fiscal year that began February 1 as it expands its network of distribution centers, remodels 1,500 existing stores and adds 1,000 new stores.

The discount retailer enters fiscal 2020 with more than 143,000 employees, up from 105,000 five years ago.

“At Dollar General, we are proud to invest in our employees as a competitive advantage, and we believe the ability to grow and develop a career is one of the most attractive currencies we offer,” Kathy Reardon, Dollar General’s senior vice president and chief people officer, said in a statement. “Candidates who join Dollar General can find numerous opportunities to begin or develop their career, demonstrated by the fact approximately 12,000 current store managers and tens of thousands of additional employees have been promoted from within. We are also proud to provide employees with a culture rooted in our mission of Serving Others, world-class training and development programs that support our employees’ career growth and a continual commitment to recruit, train and develop top talent to best serve our customers. We look forward to welcoming additional employees to the Dollar General family this year.”

The company urged external job candidates to search for available positions and apply online at dollargeneral.com/careers.

Dollar General noted that Training magazine last year recognized its employee-training program as tops in the world. Dollar General also said it expects to invest approximately 1.7 million training hours to support employees’ education and development in fiscal 2020, and that employees have access to paid parental leave, adoption assistance, telemedicine, health insurance coverage options, a 401(k) retirement savings plans and tuition reimbursement, among other benefits.

Dollar General was recently named as MMR’s Retailer of the Year and is among Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies for 2020.