LONDON (Reuters) – German discount grocer Aldi [ALDIEI.UL] plans to create 4,000 jobs in Britain in its biggest ever recruitment drive, as it steps up its expansion plans in order to match rising sales, it said on Tuesday.

Discounters Aldi and Lidl [LIDUK.UL] have grown rapidly in Britain in recent years, putting the squeeze on the major four supermarkets – market leader Tesco (TSCO.L), Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L), Asda (WMT.N) and Morrisons (MRW.L).

Aldi currently has over 700 stores in Britain and said it remains on course to open 1,000 stores by 2022.

The grocer said the jobs would be as store assistants and deputy store managers, and would help to meet an increase in sales after the group attracted nearly a million new customers in the last year.

“The success of Aldi in the UK is due to the hard work and commitment of our employees, and they are crucial to our future expansion plans,” said Matthew Barnes, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland.