Wall Street Journal: McDonald’s closes offices and tells employees to work from home ahead of layoffs
By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN
McDonald’s instructed corporate employees to work from home this week in anticipation of layoffs, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
“During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organization,” the company said in an email to employees, according to the Journal. “We want to ensure the comfort and confidentiality of our people during the notification period.”
The company reportedly told employees who can’t access computers during this time to give their personal contact information to their managers. McDonald’s has 150,000 employees in its company-owned locations and offices globally, with 70% of those positions outside of the United States, according to the Journal. McDonald’s declined to comment for this story.
In January, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a memo to staff that job cuts are coming.
“We will evaluate roles and staffing levels in parts of the organization and there will be difficult discussions and decisions ahead,” Kempczinski wrote at the time, adding that “certain initiatives will be de-prioritized or stopped altogether. This will help us move faster as an organization, while reducing our global costs and freeing up resources to invest in our growth.”
McDonald’s is one of several companies, including many in the tech industry, to announce layoffs in recent months.
Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said in March that it would make a second round of job cuts. Around that time, Amazon announced that it too would make cuts on top of those announced in January. Others like Disney and Tyson are also laying people off.
But while many of these companies have struggled, McDonald’s has been doing well.
The chain, which has been implementing a growth plan since the start of the pandemic, reported 10.9% sales growth globally in locations open at least 13 months in 2022. The company is planning to open 1,900 new restaurants throughout the world in 2023.
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