American burger chain giant McDonald’s Corp announced on Monday that it plans to hire up to 375,000 employees across its US outlets this summer. The company says this is one of its “biggest hiring pushes in years.”
Approximately 800,000 people currently work at McDonald’s restaurants across the United States, according to a Bloomberg report. Around 95% of the chain’s 13,500+ locations are franchised, meaning they are independently operated by owners who manage their own staffing and wages. Combined with its company-owned outlets, McDonald’s is among the largest private employers in the country. The company also claims that one in eight Americans has worked at a McDonald’s at some point in their lives.
McDonald’s and the broader restaurant industry typically undertake large-scale hiring drives to meet increased summer demand, CNBC reported. In 2020, for example, the chain announced plans to hire 260,000 restaurant employees as it reopened dining rooms following pandemic lockdowns.
McDonald’s also said on 12th May that it plans to open 900 new restaurants in the US by 2027. The announcement was notably made at a news conference that included US Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
At Monday’s event, McDonald’s and Secretary Chavez-DeRemer also marked the 10th anniversary of the company’s “Archways to Opportunity” programme, which offers tuition assistance and helps employees reach educational goals, such as earning a high school diploma.
Disappointing Q1 Earnings
McDonald’s reported weak quarterly results on May 1, with US same-store sales falling for the second consecutive quarter — marking the sharpest domestic decline since the onset of the Covid pandemic.
Same-store sales in the US dropped 3.6%, driven by adverse weather and more cautious consumer spending. This was the company’s worst performance in its home market since the second quarter of 2020, when sales plunged 8.7% amid widespread lockdowns.
Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount had anticipated a more modest 1.7% drop in US same-store sales for the first quarter, CNBC reported.
“In the US, overall quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry traffic from the low-income consumer cohort was down nearly double digits versus the prior-year quarter. Unlike a few months ago, QSR traffic from middle-income consumers fell nearly as much — a clear indication that the economic pressure on traffic has broadened,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said during a conference call.
