Georgia’s retail sector is facing a severe labor shortage that is preventing some supermarket chains from opening new stores, according to Giorgi Khabashvili, CEO of Goodwill and head of the Retail Association.
Khabashvili said the sector employs around 30,000 people but needs approximately 40,000, leaving a shortfall of 10,000 workers.
“Some retail chains want to open supermarkets but cannot find people willing to work in certain districts of Tbilisi or outside the capital. Young people increasingly prefer technology-related jobs and employment in other industries,” Khabashvili said on the Business Morning program.
He said retailers are increasingly turning to automation and digitalization to address the shortage, although implementing new technologies is neither easy nor inexpensive.
“Introducing and integrating technology is the only inevitable path to overcoming the labor shortage,” he said.
