Home Depot adding workers

To get ready for spring, Home Depot has started hiring 80,000 seasonal workers, including 1,200 in metro Atlanta, the company said Tuesday.

Seasonal increase

The surge of new parttime and full-time employees is similar to each year’s swelling payrolls as the Atlanta-based, $108 billion-a-year company prepares for warmer weather and a hoped-for tide of do-it-yourself projects by the nation’s homeowners.

“This is pretty much what we do every year,” said Margaret Watters Smith, a company spokeswoman. “We really do staff up a lot for spring.”

The undertaking amounts to a temporary boost of at least 20 percent in the size of the workforce. Home Depot has about 400,000 employees and 2,288 stores, including 60 in metro Atlanta. It is the largest company based in Georgia. And while the hiring is intended to match the seasonal ramp-up in business — additional demand that will fade toward fall — about half the hires will likely end up on the permanent payroll, Smith said.

Revenues up

The company declin e d to provide a pay range for the new employees, who will work in a range of jobs. Among the jobs are “front-end” positions, like those in support of the compa- ny’s high-stakes online business, which lets customers order items that are delivered to the store for pickup.

Home Depot revenues were up 7.2 percent in the past year. During the fourth quarter, sales were $26.5 billion, a 10.9 percent jump from the year before.

Interviews with candidates and the hiring decisions will be done at local stores. But the initial application is handled by specialized technology designed by Home Depot engineers meant to speed the process, Smith said.

The company suggested that those interested in applying for jobs visit careers.homedepot. com for an application, or text HOMEDEPOT to 52270 for a link.