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What the numbers say: McDonald’s closed corporate offices on Monday as the restaurant chain prepared to begin layoffs affecting its 150,000-person global workforce, about 7% of whom work outside of the U.S. Relevance: McDonald’s debuted a smaller-format, automation-heavy test restaurant in Texas in 2022, designed to speed up service and reduce human interaction (as well as staffing needs). The company’s increasing reliance on this technology, following store closures and staffing reductions in 2015 and 2016, has already more than halved its total headcount over the past decade. Brands that should care: Quick-service restaurants all care about McDonald’s adoption of automation and kitchen technology. McDonald’s results as it continues to make cuts will be closely watched. |
