McDonald's has closed its offices in the United States for a few days as the company prepares to inform its employees about new layoffs, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The outlet cited an internal email from the Chicago-based fast food giant saying US corporate staff and some overseas employees are
required to work from home while the company notifies people of their employment status.
McDonald's will inform its employees this week about the company's personnel decisions, according to the cited outlet, which are part of a previously announced broad restructuring of the company.
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Although the US job market remains strong,
layoffs have been on the rise, mainly in the technology sector,
where many companies overhired after the pandemic.
IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Facebook parent Meta, Twitter and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months.
Federal Reserve policy makers have forecast that the unemployment rate could rise to as high as 4.6% by the end of this year, a sizable increase historically associated with recessions.
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McDonald's has more than 150,000 employees at corporate functions.
About 70% of them work outside the United States.
The company reported that its worldwide sales rose nearly 11% in 2022, while US sales rose nearly 6%.
Total restaurant margins increased 5%.
In its latest annual report, it cited difficulties in adequately staffing some of its establishments.
In January, McDonald's said its 'Acelerating the Arcs' program would focus on “delivery, self-service
,
digital and development”.
“We are performing at a high level, but we can do even better,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a letter to employees on Jan. 6.
He added that the company was divided into silos and that the approach was "outdated and self-limiting."
As the company restructures its strategy, he said, "we will be evaluating roles and staffing levels in parts of the organization and there will be tough discussions and decisions ahead."