COMP NEWS – McDonald’s is slashing job roles and salaries alike as a means to save cash amid an aggressive restructuring.

McDonald’s Corp.’s restructuring this week is reaching company wide, resulting in hundreds of layoffs and for some employees reductions in their compensation packages, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

Job cuts and changes at the burger chain have affected employees in the U.S. and abroad, at McDonald’s Chicago headquarters and in its field offices, and across departments including marketing and operations, the people said.

 

The corporate restructuring has unfolded in a multipart process this week, some of the people said and internal company communications showed. McDonald’s temporarily closed its U.S. offices and started informing some corporate employees about layoffs on Monday, The Wall Street Journal has reported. 

The fast-food chain also offered some employees a chance to remain at the company with reductions in their compensation packages, including changes to titles and benefits such as bonuses and equity grants, according to people familiar with the matter. 

McDonald’s will reportedly keep laid-off workers on its payroll until June and then allocate severance afterward.

McDonald’s told U.S. restaurant owners and operators in the Thursday email that it would close its field offices in coming months, saying that they are underutilized, with most field staff spending their time in restaurants. The company said instead it would adopt a single, national structure overseeing its 10 field offices. 

“While the McDonald’s Brand is in the strongest position it has been in years, we also recognize that our business has grown increasingly complex in recent years,” Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, said in the email viewed by the Journal.

In an internal email last week, McDonald’s told U.S. employees and some international staff that they should work from home from Monday through Wednesday so the company could deliver staffing decisions virtually. McDonald’s asked employees to cancel all in-person meetings with vendors and other outside parties at its headquarters.

U.S. employees who were laid off have exited the company but will remain on McDonald’s payroll until June 15, and after that can receive severance, according to a person familiar with the matter. Affected employees with company cars have the option to return the vehicles in June or purchase the cars, the person said.

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