CHINA – American multinational fast-food restaurant McDonald’s has said it expects to train and develop more than 75,000 restaurant workers in China at newly Hamburger University over the next five years.
The Hamburger University is housed in McDonald’s China new eight-story, sustainability-focused headquarters in Shanghai.
According to the fast-food chain, the new headquarters was built with a focus on energy-saving and environmental responsibility, as well as promotion of cross-functional collaboration and flexible working.
The building has no fixed seating arrangements for employees. Instead, the building offers employees greater flexibility by providing desks, booths, lounges, and high tables from which they can choose to work from.
Other amenities to promote a productive work environment include outdoor terraces, coffee bars, gyms, and activity centers, as well as a McDonald’s restaurant that is open to employees and the public.
The restaurant will be the first McDonald’s restaurant in China to receive the LEED Platinum certification, the company said.
A new innovation center is also located in the building to allow chefs to create new menu items for the Chinese market.
McDonald’s cautiously enters plant-based segment
Meanwhile, McDonald’s USA has announced that it will test the plant-based McPlant burger created as part of its partnership with Beyond Meat in eight U.S. restaurants next month.
Starting Nov. 3, McDonald’s customers in Irving, Texas; Carrollton, Texas; Cedar Falls, Iowa; Jennings, Louisiana; Lake Charles, Louisiana; El Segundo, California; and Manhattan Beach, California, can order the McPlant for a limited time.
The meat-free patty’s ingredients include peas, rice, and potatoes, and the McPlant burger will include mayonnaise and a slice of American cheese and will be cooked on the same grills as its beef patties, according to McDonald’s.
The company said the limited test is supposed to help the chain understand the impact of introducing a plant-based burger on its operations.
The fast-food giant has already started selling McPlant burgers in some international markets, including Sweden, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
As Mcdonald’s takes its time to learn more about the longevity of meat substitutes and consumer demand, even as other fast-food chains raced to add the trendy item to their menus.
For example, rival Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International, added the Impossible Whopper to its menu more than two years ago.
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