As McDonald’s prepares to welcome more customers back for in-person dining, franchisees are gearing up to hire thousands of workers in Southern California.
But the competition to snag those employers will be fierce. After a year of lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions, burger chains and other business are desperate to hire, with many offering higher wages and incentives.
McDonald’s will hold a Drive-Up Hiring Day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 18, with on-the-spot interviews available at hundreds of area McDonald’s locations.
Franchisee Nate Carter, who owns and operates five McDonald’s locations across Whittier, La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs, said finding the right people can make all the difference.
“McDonald’s is a people-first business, and we believe our success is based on our focus on hiring and developing top talent,” Carter said. “People outweigh the best strategies.”
The fast-food chain has openings for a variety of positions, including crew members, guest experience leads, shift managers, department managers and general managers.
McDonald’s didn’t reveal what the jobs pay, but California’s minimum wage is $13 an hour for businesses with 25 or fewer workers and $14 an hour for businesses with more than 25 employees.
In some areas, such as Los Angeles and unincorporated areas of L.A. County, the base wage is $15 an hour.
Many McDonald’s restaurants offer flexible scheduling. Employees can use an app or go online to view their schedule, update availability, request time away and post shifts for replacement or swapping.
As cases of COVID-19 continue to decline, restaurants throughout Southern California are allowed to offer indoor dining at 50% capacity. California’s economy is scheduled to fully reopen June 15, provided that a sufficient supply of vaccines is available and hospitalization rates remain low.
Figures from the U.S. Labor Department show job openings rose nearly 8%, to 8.1 million in March, the most on records dating back to December 2000.
A separate survey of small businesses by the National Federation of Independent Business found that 44% had jobs they couldn’t fill, also a record high.
The list of McDonald’s restaurants participating in Drive-Up Hiring Day can be found at socalmcdhiring.com.
Job seekers can visit McDonalds.com/careers to learn more and apply to a restaurant near them, or they can text ‘apply’ or ‘worksforme’ to 36453 to start the application process. Restaurants participating in Drive-Up Hiring Day will have staff on-site to help candidates navigate the application process.
McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 39,000 locations in over 100 countries, including nearly 14,000 restaurants in the U.S. Approximately 93% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.