Days after the grand opening of its new Chicago headquarters, McDonald’s began a new round of layoffs among field staff in its key U.S. business.
The layoffs, which according to sources began on Wednesday and are expected to continue later this month, are part of the company’s previously announced plan to save $500 million in general and administrative spending by the end of 2019.
“We are putting into place a new U.S. field structure that will better support our franchisees and will ensure McDonald’s continues on a path to being more dynamic, nimble and competitive,” McDonald’s spokesperson Terri Hickey said in an emailed statement.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the layoffs Thursday.
Chris Kempczinski, president of the company’s U.S. market, announced the restructuring in an email message along with a video that was sent to franchisees, employees and suppliers. The video indicated that the company would reduce the amount staff layers between field consultants and CEO Steve Easterbrook.
It’s uncertain how many people will be affected by the layoffs. This is hardly the first round of job cuts at the chain, which in 2015 vowed to make major cost cuts to enable quicker decision-making.
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