WASHINGTON: McDonald’s says it is cutting about 225 corporate jobs as part of a push intended to revitalize its flagging business.
The world’s biggest hamburger chain says the cuts include about 135 positions at its corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, where it says it has about 2,100 employees. An additional 90 positions are being cut overseas, the company said. It says employees were notified last month.
The move comes as McDonald’s Corp. CEO Steve Easterbrook has said he will target US$300 million in cost cuts by 2017 and reorganize the company so it can react more quickly to the changing fast-food industry. As sales have struggled, McDonald’s has conceded that it failed to keep pace with changing tastes. In its flagship US market, the company last month reported its seventh straight quarterly decline in sales at established locations.
McDonald’s also cut 63 jobs in December and 65 more in January at its headquarters, said Jeff Mochal, a McDonald’s spokesman. The previous cuts were related to the removal of a management layer between US franchisees and the corporate office, he said.
The latest round of cuts in July, which affected a variety of positions for global operations, brings the total number of job reductions since late last year to more than 350.
