Weekly Global News Wrap: McDonald's gets closer to U.S. loyalty programme rollout; Yum! Brands earnings top estimates; Chipotle eyes 200 new store openings

Here is a summary of the most interesting QSR news stories of the week from around the world.

McDonald’s has entered the next phase of testing a U.S. loyalty program before it launches later this year. As reported by CNBC, roughly 900 locations out of its14,000 U.S. restaurants are part of the test. Read more here.

Former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the fast food chain seeking to recoup millions of dollars in severance pay was rejected, Reuters reported. McDonald’s sued Easterbrook in August, nine months after reaching the severance package, claiming he never gave directors a complete picture of his relationships with employees. Read more here.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions, Yum! Brands’ earnings topped Wall Street analysts’ estimates for its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. CNBC reported the company’s net sales rose 3% to US$1.74 billion. Worldwide, the company’s same-store sales fell 1% during the quarter, and Taco Bell was its only brand to report positive same-store sales growth. Read more here.

U.S. restaurants cut another 19,400 jobs in January, the third straight month in which the industry cut the number of employees in the country. Restaurant Business reports that restaurants now employ 9.94 million workers, down from 9.96 million in December. Read more here.

Shake Shack will be offering its workers a total of six hours of paid time off to get COVID-19 vaccinations when they come available, Nation’s Restaurant News reported. The voluntary, paid-time policy will be for all team members, hourly and salaried, covering about 7,600 employees. Read more here.

Chipotle is opening 200 restaurants this year, its CEO told CNBC’s Mad Money programme. The planned store openings would bring Chipotle’s store count to nearly 3,000 locations and would mark the first time since 2016 that the company added over 200 stores in a single year. Read more here.

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