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Pizza Hut will hire 14,000 new drivers this year

Pizza Hut will hire 14,000 new drivers this year
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Pizza Hut knows you like your pies hot.

That's why the chain plans to hire 14,000 new drivers this year, the company announced on Tuesday.

"As on-demand delivery continues to be a priority for our customers, we are more committed than ever to providing the best pizza delivery experience possible," spokesman Doug Terfehr said.

The positions are permanent and will be a mix of full-time and part-time positions. About 3,000 will be added each month for the rest of 2017.

"The ratio of part vs. full truly depends on the needs of the individual restaurant and market," Terfehr said.

Pizza Hut is owned by Yum! Brands, which is also the parent company of KFC and Taco Bell.

It's already been a big year for Pizza Hut jobs. In January, the company said it would add 11,000 pizza makers, delivery drivers, managers and servers in the U.S. ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.

There are 6,300 locations across the country.

Pizza Hut also said on Tuesday that it's rolling out a new algorithm in the U.S. to better predict how long it will take for your food to arrive.

"The system is capable of predicting how long a delivery will take and will account for variable factors such as weather, construction, traffic and other irregularities in the delivery pattern to enable safe, accurate deliveries," the company said in a statement.

The moves come as Pizza Hut continues to drag down Yum! Brands.

Overall, the group is having a strong year. Yum! Brands' stock up more than 16%.

But Pizza Hut's same store sales were down 3% in the first quarter. At KFC, they were up 2%, and at Taco Bell they were up 8%.