McDonald's Closes All U.S. Offices Ahead of Impending Layoffs: Report Employees were told to work from home Monday through Wednesday as corporate has decided to handle all layoffs and terminations virtually.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
There's nothing to be Lovin' about impending layoffs.
McDonald's confirmed that it would be closing corporate offices temporarily in the U.S. this week ahead of planned job cuts and restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organization," the company reportedly said in an internal email viewed by the outlet.
Employees were told to work from home beginning Monday through Wednesday so corporate can handle the layoffs and terminations virtually. Employees were also told to cancel all meetings with outside clients this week, the report said.
McDonald's did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
In January, CEO Chris Kempczinski told employees that job cuts were to be expected at some point this year in an effort to streamline operations and increase efficiency — not necessarily to save money or cut costs.
Still, the company is set to open new restaurants globally.
"We must accelerate the pace of our restaurant openings to fully capture the increased demand we've driven over the past few years," Kempczinski said in the internal memo viewed by CNBC at the time. "We're divided into silos with a center, segments, and markets. This approach is outdated and self-limiting – we are trying to solve the same problems multiple times, aren't always sharing ideas and can be slow to innovate."
The fast food chain was under heat from a number of franchisees in February after the release of the celebrity-backed Cardi B and Offset meal, with many saying that the couple's image and language did not reflect the company's "family-friendly image," with some locations even refusing to promote the new specialty order.
McDonald's, however, told Entrepreneur in a statement at the time that celebrity-inspired meals "have helped reignite fans' love for our food and fueled significant business momentum, both for the company and our restaurant owner/operators."
McDonald's is expected to report on its Q1 2023 earnings later this month on April 27. The chain was up 14% year-over-year as of Monday afternoon.
