Fast food giant McDonald’s has temporarily shut down all of their U.S. offices in preparation for mass layoffs of a vast number of its employees across the country.
The mass layoffs of McDonald’s corperate staff, which are said to be part of a company restructuring, will begin Monday.
“During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organization,” McDonald’s officials said in a memo.
The company will announce cuts virtually due to an anticipated busy travel week.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said there would be “difficult discussions and decisions ahead” in January before news of the layoffs.
According to The Wall Street Journal, in an internal email, the fast food chain told employees about the impending layoffs last week.
In the memo, company executives advised in-person meetings with vendors at headquarters be canceled.
“We want to ensure the comfort and confidentiality of our people during the notification period,” the company said.
McDonald’s employs roughly 200,000 people globally in company-owned restaurants and corporate roles.
Of that number, around 75 percent of the employees are located outside of the U.S.
Earlier this year, Kempczinski said the corporate job cuts would be needed to help the business grow.
They warned staff in a memo that the company had become unfocused.
“We had across the globe 70 different, distinct versions of what a crispy chicken sandwich would look like,” he wrote.
“I don’t need 70 different permutations of a chicken sandwich,” he said.
The CEO also wrote in the letter: “Today, we’re divided into silos with a center, segments, and markets.”
Kempczinski said he did not have a set amount he hoped the job cuts would save.
“Some jobs that are existing today are either going to get moved or those jobs may go away,” Kempczinski said.
McDonald’s first conducted a slew of significant mass layoffs in 2018 as the fast food chain cut management-level workers to be “more dynamic, nimble and competitive.”
READ: McDonald’s Opts for Automation on Pickups and Orders: ‘The Real Minimum Wage Is Zero’
