McDonald’s Corp. continues to restructure its operations in a bid to trim $500 million in spending, and the result is affecting its corporate headquarters and other offices.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based burger giant is reportedly offering buyouts to directors and vice-president level staff at its corporate headquarters, according to Crain’s Chicago Business, which cited two people who received such offers.
The offers came as the company planned to lay off 70 workers at a facility in Columbus, Ohio, according to a layoff notice in that state. Those layoffs are also part of the company’s plans to restructure, which were announced last year.
[CHARTBEAT:3]
"As we said last November when we shared details of our turnaround plan, we made a commitment to restructure for growth and deliver $500 million in savings by the end of 2017," said Terri Hickey, a spokesperson for McDonald's. "Building a better McDonald’s involves modernizing our business so we can better deliver on our customers’ expectations. While we do not take these steps lightly, we are confident they will help us put our customers back at the center of everything we do."
McDonald’s began cutting costs last year as part of a major revitalization effort following years of weak sales. In November, the company said it would cut $500 million in general and administrative spending while taking on more debt and refranchising more restaurants.
The company has been trimming workers at its headquarters and other offices for more than a year, including 63 workers at its headquarters in January and another 225 employees in August.
More than 400 workers could be eligible for buyout packages, which would provide workers with severance pay based on salary and length of service, according to Crain’s.
Meanwhile, workers will be laid off at various points over the coming months at the Columbus Accounting Center, starting with 26 employees in July, and continuing through December, according to McDonald’s layoff notice in Ohio.
The changes come as McDonald’s reportedly plans to move its headquarters from its sprawling Oak Brook campus to Chicago.
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @jonathanmaze
