Kroger Plans to Hire 20,000 More Workers

Supermarket chain Kroger said Friday it will hire about 20,000 workers to fill permanent jobs.

Kroger Co. is the largest U.S. supermarket operator and it runs Ralph's, Fry's, and other chains. The company had 375,000 full- and part-time employees as of Feb. 1 and says it has created around 40,000 new jobs in the past six years.

Kroger did not say how many of the jobs would be full-time or part-time or what the time frame is for the hiring.

Shares of the Cincinnati company picked up 23 cents to $52.08 in midday trading.