Supermarket operator Kroger to fill 10,000 permanent posts

(Reuters) - U.S. supermarket operator Kroger Co said on Monday it would fill 10,000 permanent positions in its supermarket divisions.

Kroger, which had about 431,000 full- and part-time employees as of Jan. 30, 2016, also said its total active workforce grew by more than 12,000 in 2016.

The world's No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc said last week it would create about 10,000 jobs in the United States this year, as President Donald Trump puts pressure on companies to hire more U.S. workers.

Companies such as General Motors Co and Amazon.com Inc have also announced plans to add jobs in the United States.

German drug and chemical maker Bayer AG, which is awaiting approval to buy U.S. seeds company Monsanto Co for $66 billion, said last week it would maintain more than 9,000 jobs in the United States and add 3,000 new U.S.-based high-tech positions.

(Reporting by Aravind K in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Martina D'Couto)