Home Depot is bringing over 500 jobs to SWFL

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.- Jobs, hundreds of them, coming to Southwest Florida. Home Depot says it’s time to expand their workforce. WINK News talked to the company about the opportunities for people looking for work.

“Today, we can use them in the garden department,” said Vietnam Veteran Don Holt.

Holt, a retired Vietnam War Veteran, is one of the newer part time employees of Home Depot.

“I’m not sure coming to work is a happy place, but coming to work is a happy place, I enjoy it very much.,” Holt told WINK News.

He retired from Collier Country Traffic Operations in February 2009, not too long after, his wife died from cancer.

“Every time I returned home, I came home to an empty house.”

Five years after he retired, he walked into the Home Depot on Bonita Beach Road and applied for a job in hopes to keep himself occupied.

“Even without the apron on, they know your name, it’s always ‘hi, how are you?'”

In preparation for spring, one of the busiest times for the company, Home Depot wants to hire more people like Holt, by bringing 540 permanent and part time jobs to Southwest Florida.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to give people job opportunities, we hope the people we bring in will turn into long time Home Depot people,” said Kathy Wendl.

In total, Home Depot is looking at 80,000 job openings nationwide, everything from sales to cashiers to operations.

“We want to keep people going and keep those unemployment numbers as low as we can.”

The Bonita Springs Home Depot tells WINK News they have positions for everyone. They do encourage college students, retirees and veterans to start applying now!