McDonald’s closes corporate offices as workers await layoffs

McDonald’s is closing its U.S. corporate offices Monday through Wednesday as the company lays off workers, according to an internal email viewed by CNBC.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the company’s office closures.

CEO Chris Kempczinski announced in January that the company would be cutting jobs as part of a broader corporate restructuring. McDonald’s still hasn’t disclosed how many workers will be laid off, but the company told employees that they’ll be notified virtually, starting Monday and ending Wednesday, if they’re affected by the cuts.

In the internal email, McDonald’s said it was closing its U.S. offices for those three days for employees’ comfort and privacy, as well as for timing since it’s a busy travel week ahead of Passover and Easter.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

McDonald’s reorganization will include deprioritizing and halting certain initiatives, Kempczinski said back in January. At the time, McDonald’s said the layoffs weren’t a cost-cutting measure, but instead are meant to help the company innovate faster and work more efficiently.

At the end of 2022, McDonald’s employed more than 150,000 people in its corporate offices and company-owned restaurations. Roughly 45,000 of those workers are based in the U.S.