--- description: McDonald’s is temporarily shutting down its U.S. offices this week as it prepares to announce layoffs across the company's corporate structure. title: McDonald’s Closes American Offices Amid Expected Layoffs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt980e00415c410bba/698a3b9e16d8840dcfc3bb2a/GettyImages-1367197326.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Food & Drink](/tag/food-drink/) ## Food & Drink Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # McDonald’s Closes American Corporate Offices Amid Expected Layoffs  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Apr 3, 2023 7:16 PM CUT  EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 27: A car sits in the drive-thru at a McDonald's restaurant on January 27, 2022 in El Cerrito, California. McDonald's reported fourth quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations with revenues of $6.01 billion compared to expectations of $6.03 billion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) EL CERRITO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 27: A car sits in the drive-thru at a McDonald's restaurant on January 27, 2022 in El Cerrito, California. McDonald's reported fourth quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations with revenues of $6.01 billion compared to expectations of $6.03 billion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Getty Images—2022 Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter Apr 3, 2023 7:16 PM CUT McDonald’s is temporarily shutting down its U.S. offices this week as it prepares to announce layoffs across the company’s corporate structure. In an email sent out to employees and [obtained by the Wall Street _Journal_](https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-temporarily-shuts-u-s-offices-as-chain-prepares-for-layoff-notices-36fef317?mod=hp%5Flead%5Fpos3 "undefined"), the fast-food corporation asked staff to work from home from Monday to Wednesday so that decisions could be communicated virtually. In January, the chain said it was going to make corporate staffing decisions by April. “Some jobs that are existing today are either going to get moved or those jobs may go away,” Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said in an interview. McDonald’s has about 45,000 employees in the U.S., including in its corporate offices and in its stores. It is [the latest company to announce layoffs in 2023](https://time.com/6248866/google-alphabet-biggest-layoffs-2023/ "undefined"). Workers in the technology, finance, and media industries have experienced the biggest cuts amid fears of a dwindling economy. (The current labor market [remains relatively stable](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm "undefined") as unemployment sits at a rate of 3.6%, [according to the U.S. Department of Labor](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm "undefined"), though that number is [expected to rise to 5.1%](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58957#:~:text=Reflecting%20the%20expected%20slowdown%20in,for%202023%20as%20a%20whole. "undefined") by the end of 2023.) --- ### More from TIME --- “With the war in Ukraine and all the world in, or entering into recession, their companies are trenching as demand is falling, belt tightening is going on,” John Van Reenen [previously told TIME](https://time.com/6248866/google-alphabet-biggest-layoffs-2023/ "undefined"). “One part of this is just a general reflection of what’s happening in the economic situation around the world.” More than 90% of McDonald’s stores worldwide are owned by franchisees and not McDonald’s Corporation, meaning that the corporate office closure and layoffs are not likely to directly impact customers who order from the fast food giant in the short term. In January, McDonald’s reported increases in its quarterly sales, but says increasing costs were [cutting profit margins](https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-mcd-q4-earnings-report-2022-11675140070?mod=article%5Finline "undefined") at its restaurants. Indeed, [grocery prices are at a high](https://time.com/6250895/grocery-prices-rising-inflation/ "undefined") with a carton of eggs costing an average of $4.25 in January. And the current consumer price index[ for food is up 6%](https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings/ "undefined") since last February, as food prices are still expected to grow at above-historical rates. Kempczinski said that the company would look to open new restaurants to increase profits in light of the economic circumstances, the Wall Street _Journal_ [reports](https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-mcd-q4-earnings-report-2022-11675140070?mod=article%5Finline "undefined"), while sizing down on operation costs more broadly. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6268129/mcdonalds-closes-corporate-offices-layoffs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6268129/mcdonalds-closes-corporate-offices-layoffs/"},"headline":"McDonald’s Closes American Corporate Offices Amid Expected Layoffs","datePublished":"2023-04-03T19:16:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:40:54.708Z","description":"McDonald’s is temporarily shutting down its U.S. offices this week as it prepares to announce layoffs across the company's corporate structure.","url":"https://time.com/6268129/mcdonalds-closes-corporate-offices-layoffs/","keywords":["Food & Drink","News Team"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt980e00415c410bba/698a3b9e16d8840dcfc3bb2a/GettyImages-1367197326.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt980e00415c410bba/698a3b9e16d8840dcfc3bb2a/GettyImages-1367197326.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"McDonald's Quarterly Earnings Miss Wall Street's Expectations","caption":"McDonald's Quarterly Earnings Miss Wall Street's Expectations","creditText":"Getty Images—2022 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/food-drink/","name":"Food & Drink"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6268129/mcdonalds-closes-corporate-offices-layoffs/","name":"McDonald’s Closes American Corporate Offices Amid Expected Layoffs"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why Business Leaders Need to Ask More Difficult Questions","description":"Seth Goldenberg wants us all to be more curious. 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