McDonald’s Plans To Open 900 Stores in the US Alone
McDonald's is making some bold moves.
McDonald’s is making bold new moves to expand its U.S. footprint, announcing that it will open over 900 stores in the coming years.
According to Eat This, Not That!, these 900 locations will be opened by 2027. The locations are opening amidst concerns of a “McRecession,” following the fast-food chain’s recent dismal quarterly earnings report.
The report revealed that the fast-food chain saw the most significant drop in U.S. sales since the pandemic in 2020, with same-store sales (sales at stores open for at least a year) reporting a 3.6% slide. According to analysts, the fast-food chain’s first quarter of 2025 was expected to be difficult. First, the fast-food juggernaut’s January sales in the United States were poor. Then, consumers started to tighten their budgets and eat out less as worries about actual and prospective price increases on necessities like groceries increased.
Even still, analysts predicted that domestic same-store sales would only decline by 1.7%.
“In most of our major markets, we’re seeing a similar story in regards to the challenging industry environment and softening consumer sentiment,” CFO Ian Borden said on the company’s earnings call, per CNBC.
McDonald’s Hiring Blitz Will Support These New Stores
To support these 900 new stores, the home of the Big Mac will engage in a hiring blitz, taking on a record-breaking 375,000 employees in the coming months, according to a press release.
“McDonald’s is sparking a ripple effect of prosperity for our workers, communities and the economy,” said U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who joined McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger at a McDonald’s restaurant near Columbus, Ohio, for the hiring announcement.
The new hiring will be permanent, but because so many people are coming and going at any given moment, the corporation does not anticipate having more than 1.1 million workers by the end of the summer. This is the largest hiring spree since COVID, when the fast-food chain announced that it was hiring 260,000 workers to aid with the reopening of several stores.
“I often think about the time I spent working in our restaurants as a General Manager, and it was immediately clear that crew members are the heart and soul of this brand,” Erlinger said. “They go above and beyond to take care of our customers, and it’s our job to take care of and create opportunities for them. When you put on an apron for a shift at McDonald’s, you’re building skills you’ll carry with you for life.”
