“During the week of April 3, we will announce key decisions regarding roles and staffing levels within the company,” the Chicago-based company said in the news, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesperson for McDonald’s confirmed the decision to The Washington Post, but declined to share any additional information, including how many people will be laid off.
McDonald’s joins a growing cadre of companies that have cut positions in recent months. The cuts are deep among tech giants such as Amazon, Meta, Salesforce, Microsoft and Google, all of which have hired heavily during the pandemic. But recently the layoff notices of J. Companies outside of tech include Crew, 3M, Dow and Disney.
The burger company has 150,000 employees in its corporate workforce and in its non-franchised restaurants. More than half of these employees work outside the United States.
The layoffs come as McDonald’s begins a restructuring program called “Accelerating the Arches 2.0,” in which the company aims to open more restaurants to keep pace with increased demand. The company already has more than 38,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, according to it Website. It plans to add 1,900 locations by 2023, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said on a call with investors in January.
McDonald’s has benefited from recent inflationary pressures, with the company reporting in January that customers are visiting restaurants more often as they seek cheaper meals. The burger giant has grown domestic traffic for two consecutive quarters, even as other restaurants and retailers experienced a slowdown amid widespread inflation. In its most recent release, the company said its global comparable sales in 2022 were up 10.9 percent from a year earlier. Income statement.
“Overall, consumers, whether it’s in Europe or the U.S., have actually gotten better than we expected a year or six months ago,” McDonald’s Chief Executive Chris Kempczynski said on a company earnings call in January.
The restructuring plan aims to “modernize” McDonald’s working methods and help the company “innovate faster than ever” to keep up with high demand, Kempczynski said in a statement. news to employees at that time.
McDonald’s higher menu prices and stronger menu innovations have helped boost its traffic and customer transactions, says Neil Sanders, managing director of analytics firm Global Data. But the company is still facing high cost pressures and is thus streamlining its operations.
With these layoffs, McDonald’s is “fundamentally ahead of potential pressures” on its business, Sanders said.
Fast food prices rose by about 13 percent last year. InvoiceIt tracks prices for American fast food companies and other popular businesses.
Shares of McDonald’s rose 0.8 percent in Monday trading.
