McDonald’s said Thursday that it plans to hire around 260,000 restaurant employees in the U.S. this summer as it reopens dining rooms across the country.
Here’s the full statement from the company:
As states and communities continue to re-open their economies, McDonald’s restaurants are expecting to hire approximately 260,000 restaurant employees in the U.S. this summer. This comes as McDonald’s restaurants begin to welcome customers back into dining rooms with extra precautions in place. McDonald’s has implemented nearly 50 new safety procedures to protect crew and customers. These include wellness and temperature checks, social distancing floor stickers, protective barriers at order points, masks and gloves for employees with the addition of new procedures, and training for the opening of dining rooms.
“We are excited to welcome new employees to our McFamily, and we want candidates and their families to know we have one goal – to keep our people safe. We’ve put new minimum national standards and nearly 50 new processes in place in our restaurants as they continue to re-open safely and judiciously,” said Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA. “Our local business owners are proud to help their communities and provide employment and educational opportunities to hundreds of thousands of people this summer.”
Through a summer job at a McDonald’s restaurant, individuals not only learn work readiness skills on the job, such as teamwork, customer service and responsibility, they will also have the chance to further their education.
This year marks the five-year anniversary of Archways to Opportunity and so far McDonald’s has given out more than $100 million in tuition assistance and supported more than 55,000 restaurant workers and corporate employees. Eligible after just 90 days and 15 hours a week, restaurant employees can earn a high school diploma and receive $2,500 in upfront college tuition assistance. Restaurant employees can also access free education and career advising services and the opportunity to learn English as a second language. Archways to Opportunity has proven to promote opportunity and mobility for McDonald’s diverse employee community. More than 50 percent of the participants are individuals who identify as people of color and almost two-thirds of participants are women.
Twin sisters Jaelyn and Jocelyn Fluker are McDonald’s employees and seniors at Indiana State University who have utilized the Archways to Opportunity program for the past two years. “Working at McDonald’s and participating in Archways eased my family’s financial worries and set me up to graduate next year without major debt,” said Jaelyn Fluker. “I have gained not only financial assistance while working at McDonald’s but also valuable customer service experience, problem solving and communications skills, qualities I apply in college while also working as a tour guide to new students on campus”, said Jocelyn Fluker. Graduating next year with their bachelor’s in criminal justice and psychology, the sisters are now looking at what’s next as they begin to explore grad schools and will leverage the Archways to Careers app to explore potential future careers and schooling.