McDonald’s to lay off U.S. employees in turnaround plan

June 7 (UPI) — McDonald’s said it’s planning more layoffs to turnaround business that’s struggled to compete with other fast food chains in recent years.

The Wall Street Journal obtained an email that McDonald’s President Chris Kempczinski sent to employees, suppliers and franchisees Wednesday saying the restaurant will restructure.

“I recognize that change is difficult, and that eliminating layers within our organization means some employees will ultimately exit our system,” Kempczinski wrote.

Kempczinski did not specify the number of employees who to be laid off, but said he would provide more details next week.

The layoffs are part of the company’s plan to reduce expenses by $500 million by the end of 2019.

McDonald’s has already cut some corporate jobs since a 2016 study found it lost about 500 million orders to rival U.S. chains over a five-year period.

“We are always evaluating ways to better serve our customers and continue to grow our business,” Terri Hickey, a spokeswoman for McDonald’s, told CNBC via email. “With that in mind, we are putting into place a new U.S. field structure that will better support our franchisees and will ensure McDonald’s continues on a path to being more dynamic, nimble and competitive.”