2024-09-09 05:34:30
McDonald’s plans to create more than 10,000 new jobs in Germany by 2027. To this end, the fast-food chain is planning a major expansion in this country.
McDonald’s sees a lot of growth potential in the German market and wants to significantly expand its offering. “We believe in Germany as a business location and will continue to grow strongly here,” said Christoph Gehrig, CFO of McDonald’s Germany, to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group.
This year, 25 restaurants with around 50 employees each will be opened, creating around 1,250 jobs. Over the next three years, the pace of expansion will increase to 75 new branches per year. This will create more than 10,000 new jobs by 2027.
According to Gehrig, 500 new fast-food restaurants are to be opened in Germany in the medium term, particularly in highly frequented locations such as on motorways or in train stations. “We are focusing on expanding drive-in locations because Germany is still a car country. I don’t see this changing in the short term,” said Gehrig.
Investments are also being made in the expansion of e-mobility. Electric charging stations have been installed at 600 of the 1,050 drive-in restaurants. In the future, the drive-ins will also be equipped with two lanes instead of the current one.
Gehrig described recruiting employees as challenging and advocated reducing hiring hurdles: “We employ people from more than 160 countries. However, we see potential for expansion, particularly when it comes to hiring refugees, in terms of reducing bureaucratic hurdles,” he said. According to the company, it currently has more than 1,400 restaurants in Germany with over 65,000 employees.
Digital ordering methods via self-service terminals or the app are set to play an even greater role in the future. At the same time, the CFO promised: “In our restaurants, you will continue to be able to place your order at the counter and pay in cash as long as our guests want to.” Currently, 80 percent of guests in the restaurant already order via self-service terminals, 6 percent via the app and only 14 percent at the counter.