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The burger chain that put "supersize" into the American vernacular is slimming down: For the first time in more than 40 years, and perhaps ever, McDonald's says the number of U.S. restaurants it has is shrinking. McDonald's plans to close more restaurants in the U.S. than it opens this year, according to the world's biggest hamburger chain. That hasn't happened since at least 1970, according to an Associated Press review of McDonald's regulatory filings. Becca Hary, a McDonald's spokeswoman, declined to provide a specific figure but said the reduction would be "minimal" compared with its total of about 14,300 U.S....

This is exactly what the left pushed for… Fast food chains were never meant to be a place for someone to raise a family of 6, they were to be part time positions with some full-time advancements. Mostly the fast food restaurants were for school aged kids to learn how to interact with people, with a job, to offer spending money, and to begin responsibility learning for their future.

McDonald's Corp said it hired Robert Gibbs, U.S. President Barack Obama's press secretary during his first term, as its chief communications officer. The world's biggest restaurant chain by sales also named Bacardi Ltd's Silvia Lagnado as its chief marketing officer, a position vacant since 2010. Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook laid out plans in May to overhaul the company's businesses and management as part of efforts to make the fast-food chain a "modern, progressive burger company." McDonald's, which on Monday reported its 12th straight decline in monthly same-store sales, is fighting to lure back customers lost to more nimble rivals and...

Complete Headline: McDonald's Appoints Robert Gibbs as Global Chief Communications Officer; Silvia Lagnado as Global Chief Marketing Officer McDonald's Corporation MCD, -0.54% today announced the appointments of Robert Gibbs as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Communications Officer and Silvia Lagnado as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Marketing Officer. Both will report to McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook. [Snip] In his new role, Gibbs will lead McDonald's corporate relations group, which manages internal and external communications and government and public affairs. He will lead McDonald's in communicating clear, coordinated messages to internal and external constituencies, enhancing the brand and supporting...

Raising the wages of low to unskilled workers to $15.00 an hour will only help the Democrats and the extortionist unions who “represent” these workers. If low level salaries are doubled to $15.00 an hour, causing half of a shop’s workforce to be fired, the unions are way ahead. They will just double the dues for the remaining workers and not lose a cent in income. Better still, when employers fire half their workers just to survive, there will be half the number of members to bother union thugs with demands for services. The unions will still be able to...

Reflections on the "minimum wage hike" protests today at McDonald's Oak Brook headquarters... On a cool May morning, as McDonalds’ shareholders met to determine the fast food giant’s future course, some 2000 protesters, hailing from as far as Kansas City and New York, descended upon them to present a list of demands. Raise the starting wage to $15/hour, they threatened, lest the company be forever branded with such monikers as Exploiter, Villain, Robber Baron and Tyrant! The Chicago Tribune, newspaper of record in the blighted metro area that McDonald’s calls home, was happy to give front page coverage to these...

Another vicious teen brawl erupted inside a McDonald’s location in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday — and innocent people may have gotten hurt.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera Tuesday sent a letter to McDonald’s Corp. warning of potential legal action due to ongoing problems with drug sales and other public nuisances at the Haight Street McDonald’s restaurant. [Snip] According to the city attorney’s office, police responded to 641 calls for service at the restaurant between Jan. 1, 2014 and April 22, 2015 and nearly 1,100 since January 2012, a number that far exceeds those seen at other properties in the area. [Snip] Police have arrested people on drug-related charges on or in front of the property on at least 11 different occasions...

We usually hate it when media speculate about whether a celebrity has had a nip or tuck, but it must be said: The Hamburglar has definitely had some work done. McDonald's on Wednesday brought the burger-stealing character back for a new advertising campaign for the first time in over a decade — and he looks nothing like the short, chubby, red-haired cartoon that we here at The Salt grew up with. Instead, he's now a tall, slim, stubble-faced dude sporting a fedora, trench coat and skinny-jeans. And it turns out he's also a suburban dad — a back story revealed...

McDonald’s may be developing a taste for a new ingredient as it fights to reinvent itself: Kale. The world’s biggest burger chain says it’s testing two breakfast bowls in Southern California, one of which includes the leafy green as an ingredient. The test comes as McDonald’s Corp. works to shake its junk food image, with sales at established U.S. locations declining for six straight quarters. CEO Steve Easterbrook, who stepped into the top spot March 1, has said he want to turn the chain into a “modern, progressive burger company.”

Actor James Franco has written a lengthy endorsement of his former employer, McDonald's. The brand has been struggling with declining US sales and announced an extensive turnaround plan this week. Franco writes in a Washington Post op-ed that in the late '90s he was a struggling actor living in Los Angeles. He was fired from a coffee shop and golf course and couldn't find acting jobs. He became desperate after his parents cut him off financially. "Someone asked me if I was too good to work at McDonald’s," Franco writes. "Because I was following my acting dream despite all the...

Upon hearing buzz that McDonald’s has brought back that scamp the Hamburglar to network TV after a 13-year hiatus, ostensibly in Burger Thief Jail, the image of the chubby-cheeked, one-toothed masked beef marauder might come to mind. But lo — the scamp is gone, replaced by a suburban dad with a full set of teeth, a five o’clock shadow on his chiseled jaw and a penchant for red leather high tops and trench coats. “We felt it was time to debut a new look for the Hamburglar after he’s been out of the public eye all these years,” Joel Yashinsky,...

NEW YORK — McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook says he's stripping away layers of bureaucracy so the company can move faster to keep up with changing tastes.During a 23-minute video message posted online Monday, Easterbrook said the company's structure is too "cumbersome" and that it can no longer afford its "legacy structure."

You probably saw the story yesterday that McDonald’s had yet another rough quarter, with sales down globally yet again. I didn’t think it was worth blogging again after reading this part, but please indulge me before we get to the good stuff: Shares of the fast-food company were up almost 5 percent in early trading. At midday, they remained 3 percent higher at $97.70 as investors shrugged off declines in quarterly earnings and sales.McDonald’s global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell a worse-than-expected 2.3 percent in the first quarter, and the company warned of another drop in...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan woman has been sentenced to three to seven years in prison for opening fire at a McDonald's restaurant after workers twice failed to put bacon on her burgers. Authorities say 30-year-old Shaneka Torres became angry in February 2014 when the first burger she ordered at the restaurant's drive-up station was missing bacon. She was offered a free meal, but bacon also wasn't added to a second burger order.

Under the direction of new CEO Steve Easterbrook, who took the corporate helm on March 1st, McDonald’s is “finally deciding to give some of its workers a raise,” the Huffington Post declares in an article from April 1st. McDonald’s had just announced its commitment to “give employees a 10% increase in wages” just “two weeks ahead of a planned international strike organized by the movement Fight for $15, which urges fast food employers to pay workers a minimum wage of $15 per hour.” Despite the context in which the media (and pretty much everyone else) frames the decision, according to...

For instance, earlier in April the company announced it is testing out a larger, pricier, third-of-a-pound burger for $5, two years after dropping the similar Angus burger line because they were too pricey for McDonald’s diners. Despite that earlier failure, new CEO Steve Easterbrook expressed confidence his customers would go for premium burgers. “I often describe McDonald’s as possibly the most democratic -- with a small ‘d’ -- brand in the world,” he said. “And what customers love the world over, and none more so than here in the U.S., is how they can buy into aspirational quality products, but...

While McDonald's investors will have to wait until May 4 to get a full picture of the chain's turnaround plan, a recent trademark application reveals what could be up the fast food giant's sleeve. (Tweet this) Last Wednesday, the company filed an application to trademark the word "McDelivery." Companies often file trademarks for new business or marketing initiatives before they are announced to the public.

Fast-food giant McDonald's said Wednesday it would announce a turnaround plan in two weeks as sinking US sales dragged down profits again in the first quarter. The ubiquitous burger-and-fries chain said US sales, the largest share of global income, fell 2.6 percent from a year ago for comparable outlets.

Jonathan Hoenig @JonathanHoenig Several folks protesting McDonalds pick up dinner from McDonalds. pic.twitter.com/iEWoZDh4c1