Chipotle Mexican Grill is adding 15,000 jobs across its North American locations — a sign that demand for restaurant food is robust despite high inflation and economic uncertainty.
The burrito chain's hiring push is meant to ensure its more than 3,000 U.S. restaurants are fully staffed for the company's busiest season, which stretches from March to May, Chipotle said Thursday. The company has more than 100,000 U.S. restaurant workers.
It's getting easier to keep hourly staff, with December being one of the company's best months in years for retention rates, said Scott Boatwright, the chain's chief restaurant officer. He added that it's easier to hire entry-level workers now that retail demand is softening and
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"That workforce is now migrating back into leisure and hospitality," Boatwright said in an interview. "We're seeing an increase in applicant flow across the country."
The company has performed well during the pandemic, with revenue gaining 26% in 2021 and about 15% in the first three quarters of 2022. (It reports fourth-quarter results next month.) A larger workforce may help expansion efforts; Chipotle says it can more than double its footprint in the long term to 7,000 locations in North America.
Chipotle and its peers have raised wages in recent years to attract workers amid a labor crunch, and the chain has said its average wage was more than $16 an hour. The latest U.S. jobs
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Efforts to expand workforces in the restaurant and retail sectors contrast with the tech industry, where companies are
