McDonald's temporarily shuts US offices, plans major layoffs

Fast food giant McDonald's has temporarily shut its offices in the US this week as it gears up to lay off several employees as part of the restructuring plan amid the global economic meltdown, the media reported.

According to Wall Street Journal, the Chicago-based burger major told US employees, and some international staff, "that they should work from home from Monday through Wednesday so it can deliver staffing decisions virtually".

"During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organisation," the company said in an internal email.

"We want to ensure the comfort and confidentiality of our people during the notification period," the company added.

McDonald's was yet to comment on the development or on the number of employees being laid off.

In January, the company said it planned to make "difficult" decisions about changes to its corporate staffing levels by April.

CEO Chris Kempczinski had said at the time that he expected to save money as part of the workforce assessment.

McDonald's employs more than 1,50,000 people globally in corporate roles and its owned restaurants with 70 per cent of them located outside of the US.

The company has conducted several rounds of layoffs in recent years.

In 2018, McDonald's said that the company was cutting its management to be "more dynamic, nimble and competitive".