Recent actions by McDonald’s Corp. in an internal email show the company is taking steps for what appears to be sweeping layoffs, as the company closed offices and told some US and international staff to stay home.
McDonald’s closes offices, tell staff to work from home
McDonald’s Corporation sent an internal email last week to US employees and some international staff, telling employees to work from home Monday through Wednesday while it closes offices so that it can deliver some staffing decisions, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday.
According to the reports, McDonald’s is reviewing corporate staffing levels as it prepares an updated business strategy, so it can deliver staffing decisions virtually, the New York Post reported.
McDonald’s had already warned employees in January that layoffs would be coming. In a memo to employees that month, McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company was evaluating staffing levels and roles throughout various parts of the company, ABC News reported.
At the time, the CEO said the company’s updated business strategy, dubbed “Accelerating the Arches 2.0,” was aimed at making the company more efficient and innovative, while trimming costs, FOXBusiness reported.
McDonald’s appears to be preparing sweeping layoffs
An internal email sent by the McDonald’s corporation to its US employees and some international staff appears to imply the company is planning layoffs.
“During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organization,” the company said in the email message, as viewed and reported by The Wall Street Journal.
McDonald’s currently has more than 150,000 employees in corporate roles and in company-owned restaurants. Roughly 70% of those employees are based outside the United States.
Some media reports stated that decisions on layoffs could come as early as Monday, April 3.
How many employees could McDonald’s let go?
A number of media companies contacted McDonald’s over the report, but by early Monday, the company had declined to comment on inquiries from ABC, Fox, Reuters, and the New York Post, according to those outlets.
In lieu of comment from McDonald’s, most speculations foresee the layoffs coming at the corporate level, which has been the trend in other areas, particularly in the technology sector. Many companies over-hired during the pandemic boom, with several announcing layoffs in recent months. One company related to the food industry announcing layoffs was DoorDash.
However, there is still a large shortage of workers to fill service jobs, and McDonald’s is one such company, ABC News reported.
