McDonald's closes corporate offices for three days, handles layoffs virtually
CHICAGO (CBS) -- McDonald's is cutting hundreds of jobs.
The company has announced layoffs, and has closed its U.S. corporate offices – including the headquarters in Chicago – through Wednesday while notifying employees virtually.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported Monday, experts say they have never seen a company handle layoffs in such a fashion.
"I've never seen a company close their entire office with the announcement that they're going to be letting people go virtually," said jobs expert Andy Challenger. "That is a new step, and an interesting one."
The Wall Street Journal cited an internal email from the company on staff working from home while layoffs are handled virtually. Virtual layoffs are something Challenger says he is seeing more of now.
"Three years ago, it was considered really undignified to let somebody know their job was being eliminated via phone or via the internet," Challenger said. "There's been a real shift over the last three years, as workforces completely when remotely. I'm having lots of conversations with employers and employees about potential layoffs and how they may actually prefer it be done virtually today."
Challenger said there is "an element of it seeming somewhat cruel to have people travel into the office just to be notified their job is being let go when it could otherwise be done from the privacy and comfort of your own home."
A source familiar with the McDonald's matter confirmed to CBS 2 that there will be hundreds losing their jobs.
"This is a shift," Challenger said. "It obviously has a bigger impact on Chicago where the world headquarters is located."
This follows an announcement in January on planned job cuts as part of a broader corporate restructuring.
"These are those higher-paying jobs that tend to be located downtown or in the surrounding suburbs," Challenger said.
The jobs being cut are on the corporate side - not the restaurant jobs Challenger says McDonald's has had a hard time filling the past two years.
So what does this say about the jobs market in general?
Challenger is tracking layoffs in every sector of every industry - something he says experts haven't seen in years, and could be a sign of what's to come. But for now?
"The silver lining for people losing their jobs? The labor market right now remains strong," Challenger said. "We don't know if that's going to last forever, but we are still talking to lots of organizations that are hiring at a very fast pace for high quality jobs and good roles."
There was no comment from McDonald's Monday, and spokespeople did not address our questions on how many of the hundreds being laid off work here in Chicago.
Among other major companies that have announced layoffs this year are State Farm, which laid off 451 staffers at the end of last month; Evolent Health, which laid off 484 employees in January; Aerotek Inc. at Abbott Labs, which let go 623 people who had completed an assigned project at the end of January; and Akorn Operating Company, which filed for bankruptcy and laid off a total of 611 employees, 209 of whom were in the greater Chicago area in Gurnee and Vernon Hills.
