McDonald's to Double China Workforce This Year

McDonald’s Corp plans to hire 70,000 more workers in China this year, nearly doubling its workforce as it accelerates new store openings, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

On May 20 all 1,400 McDonald’s stores in China will set up recruitment tables and invite people to apply for restaurant positions, said company spokeswoman Lisa Howard.

Currently McDonald’s has about 80,000 employees in China, and plans to open up to 250 new locations this year, compared with 200 last year, she said.

McDonald’s needs somewhat higher staffing per store in China than other markets because it offers delivery service there.

Last year the world’s biggest fast-food chain generated about 22% of its global sales from the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region last year. It has over 33,500 restaurants worldwide.

McDonald’s is facing growing competition in China from Yum! Brands Inc’s KFC and Pizza Hut. It plans to fight back by opening more stores with drive-throughs and promoting value items during lunch.