Safeway's Eastern Division plans to fill 1,600 jobs in Maryland and three other jurisdictions as part of a hiring effort that added 2,000 employees in the last two months, the supermarket chain said Thursday.
About 850 jobs are in Maryland.
The company said it is seeking workers who want retail grocery careers, particularly applicants with past grocery experience. Available positions include courtesy, food and service clerks, Starbucks baristas, cashiers, cake decorators, bakers, produce clerks, department managers, meat cutters and wrappers and assistant store managers.
"We would be particularly interested in interviewing anyone currently working for a local union competitor who may be considering a buyout from that company," Lisa Umali, Safeway's HR director for the Eastern Division, said in the announcement.
The parent company of Safeway rival Giant, Dutch retailer Royal Ahold, announced a merger last month with Delhaize Group of Belgium, owner of Food Lion, which would create the fourth largest U.S. grocer. The merging companies have offered little guidance on plans for U.S. banners including Giant, but analysts suggested that the deal wouldn't result in significant closings, particularly in Baltimore.
Safeway's recent spate of hiring is part of an increased focus on "serving our customers more effectively," said Craig M. Muckle, a Safeway spokesman.
The Safeway division, part of the Albertson's chain, employs more than 14,000 people at 125 stores, including 66 Safeway stores in Maryland, 41 in Virginia, 14 in Washington and four in Delaware.