McDonald’s to Create 24,000 Jobs with Expansion in UK and Ireland

McDonald’s has announced an ambitious plan to open over 200 new restaurants across the United Kingdom and Ireland, a move expected to generate more than 24,000 jobs. The fast-food giant revealed on Wednesday that this expansion will include testing new restaurant formats, such as “drive-to” locations and smaller urban stores, in addition to traditional town and city center outlets.

This development is part of a broader strategy McDonald’s set in motion last December, aiming to establish 10,000 new restaurants globally by the end of 2027, bringing the company’s worldwide total to 50,000 locations.

Alistair Macrow, CEO of McDonald’s UK & Ireland, highlighted the brand’s evolution over the past 50 years since it first entered the UK market. “Half a century later, the UK has changed, and with it, McDonald’s has evolved too… When we opened, there was just one way to order, and now there are 11,” Macrow said in the statement.

The UK expansion represents a 14% increase in the number of McDonald’s stores and employees in the region, according to calculations by CNN. The company is investing £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in this growth initiative.

This expansion comes despite a recent global slowdown in business for McDonald’s. The company’s sales at stores open for at least a year dropped by 1% in the April-June quarter compared to the same period in 2023, marking the first decline since the pandemic-affected last quarter of 2020. In the US, sales at established stores fell by 0.7%, driven by a decrease in customer visits.

Rising food prices in the United States, particularly in restaurants and fast-food establishments, have made dining out a luxury for many consumers. McDonald’s faced backlash last year when a viral post showed an $18 Big Mac meal, sparking outrage over perceived corporate greed. The high price was later revealed to be an anomaly at a single rest stop in Connecticut, but it underscored the challenges the company faces.

In the UK, McDonald’s has also encountered competition from Greggs, a budget bakery chain that overtook it as the market leader in food-to-go breakfasts last year. Despite these challenges, McDonald’s remains committed to its growth and adaptation to changing market conditions.