The boss of McDonald’s in the UK has vowed to keep investing in restaurants and staff despite tough “headwinds” forcing many firms to cut costs and trim their workforces.
Lauren Schultz, chief executive of McDonald’s UK & Ireland, told the Press Association the group had kept its hiring levels in the face of soaring wage costs, with between 70 and 130 staff still employed per restaurant.
But she said difficult trading conditions were putting pressure on companies.
She said: “It’s hard to do business right now.
“Whether down to the consumer, or the number of competitors out there.”
She added: “In this headwind-rich environment, people who run businesses not the way we do might contract and pull back to manage costs.”
But she said “cost savings never lead to growth”.
“When you invest in your people… you drive better business outcomes.”
Her comments came as the group unveiled a paid work placement programme to give a “foot in the door” for 2,500 young people as they come up against shrinking employment opportunities.
The fast food giant is launching what it claims is the UK’s largest ever in-person work experience initiative in a move to help tackle rising youth unemployment.
It will offer five-day placements to 16 to 25-year-olds nationwide, with a target for a quarter of the placements to be offered to young people who are classed as Neet (Not in education, employment or training) or at risk of becoming Neet.
It follows official figures on Tuesday showing more students have scrapped plans to look for work alongside their studies amid dwindling job opportunities, with around 70,000 more students classed as inactive in the quarter to February.
Youth unemployment in the UK reached its highest level for more than a decade at the end of last year, with many firms cutting back on hiring young people due to increases in minimum wages and last year’s labour tax hike.
McDonald’s employs around 100,000 workers under the age of 25, with one in three managers under 25 years old.
Ms Schultz said many young people lack the work experience to get into the workplace and hopes the work placement programme will give them a head start.
“They want to be in the workforce, but they can’t get any work because they don’t have that experience,” she told the Press Association.
A survey commissioned by McDonald’s for its inaugural Youth Confidence Index found that more than two thirds (67%) of young people would like to do work experience, but 69% said there is a lack of placements in their local area.
More than 60% (61%) also said they cannot afford to do unpaid work experience.
Those taken on for the McDonald’s work placement programme will be paid in line with new starters for their age group and will get to work across its restaurant operations, from food production to serving customers, as well as working in its Drive-Thru operations, dealing with couriers and stock-taking.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “McDonald’s have a strong track record of supporting and training up young people, and it is fantastic to see them using their position to help even more overcome barriers and set them up for successful careers.”
McDonald’s has seen its working conditions come under the spotlight in recent years after claims made in 2023 about sexual harassment among workers in its restaurants.
It has since agreed a raft of measures with Britain’s equality watchdog to protect its staff from sexual harassment.
Ms Schultz said the group was “proud of the progress we have made” in tackling sexual harassment in the business.
“In this era, we have zero tolerance for any sexual harassment in our restaurants,” she said.