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On March 20th, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that, with the exception of establishments not offering dine-in service, all shops and cafes must close.
McDonald's tweeted, "This is not a spur-of-the-moment decision; we have come to this decision for the welfare and safety of our employees, as well as the best interests of our customers."
Previously, this American "giant" had also announced the closure of its seating area but would still serve customers who wanted to take their orders home and continue to maintain its drive-through service.
Paul Pomroy, head of McDonald's UK, said, “Over the last 24 hours, it has become clear that it’s difficult to maintain a safe distance while packing takeout and running drive-throughs. Therefore, we have decided to close all our stores in the UK and Ireland by 7 pm on Monday, March 23rd.”
In the UK, there are approximately 135,000 employees working for McDonald's, and the majority of them are on zero-hour contracts. According to the company, until April 5th, employees hired directly will be paid their full wages for the hours they work.
