In 2025, the Group’s human resources strategy continued to face significant challenges, reflecting a demanding labour market environment marked by labour shortages across Europe and historically low unemployment rates. At the same time, structural trends, including an ageing population, tighter migration constraints, and evolving generational expectations, further intensified people management challenges. As a result, talent sources are being reshaped and competition to attract and retain employees, especially in operational positions, has intensified.
The Risk Committee evaluates and monitors these challenges on a quarterly basis, identifying mitigation measures to address the identified risks. Our response is implemented through concrete actions structured around the five strategic pillars of the Group’s human resources management:
tackling labour shortage;
strengthening recognition and retention mechanisms;
developing capabilities and leadership;
putting people at the centre of the HR transformation agenda;
preparing the organisation to face future challenges.
The initiatives implemented under these pillars, together with the commitments we define every three years and monitor quarterly at both Group and Company level, reflect our response to the challenges identified and are detailed in the pages that follow. Commitments are described in “Sustainability Commitments”, of this chapter.
In 2025, the Group participated for the first time in the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI), an initiative of the Thomson Reuters Foundation that assesses companies’ transparency on workforce-related matters. Jerónimo Martins achieved an overall score of 71%, placing 9 p.p. above the average of the more than 100 participating companies, 4 p.p. above the Consumer Staples sector, and 22 p.p. above Portuguese companies. The Group stood out across several of the 13 dimensions assessed, namely governance, risk analysis and human rights, diversity and inclusion, development and adaptation, employee communication and grievance mechanisms, as well as responsible sourcing and supply chain management. The highest score was also achieved in four dimensions, a result unmatched among the participating companies.