Burger King plans massive hiring blitz in push to reinvigorate brand – UK Times

Burger King is looking to hire up to 60,000 workers across its U.S. restaurant system after the fast-food joint grilled up its most transformative period in years and aims to serve more customers.

The company said Thursday the hiring push will stretch across its roughly 6,500 locations nationwide, with openings ranging from hourly crew members to salaried management roles.

Company leaders say the hiring surge comes as more customers are coming through the doors, following years of investments in restaurant upgrades, operations and marketing. Those efforts, part of Burger King’s “Reclaim the Flame” turnaround plan, have helped drive up sales and foot traffic in recent months, leaving many locations in need of more staff to keep up with demand.

“We’ve done the important work of strengthening our operations, modernizing our restaurants, and listening to our Guests, and it’s paying off,” Tom Curtis, President of Burger King U.S. & Canada, said in a statement.

“Now we need great people to help us keep that momentum going – people who are passionate, hardworking, and genuinely friendly. A warm welcome goes a long way, and the Team Members who bring that energy every day are at the heart of what makes the Burger King experience special,” he added.

The announcement builds on a string of big moves that have helped refresh Burger King’s image and make it more appealing to both customers and workers.

Earlier this year, the chain updated its signature Whopper for the first time in nearly a decade, based on customer feedback. More recently, it rolled out a new campaign, “There’s A New King And It’s You,” which puts the spotlight on customers and the role they’ve played in the brand’s comeback.

Because almost all Burger King restaurants in the U.S. are run by franchisees, the hiring effort will largely depend on those independent operators stepping up. The company described the campaign as a “collective investment” across its franchise system.

While Burger King temporarily owns about 1,000 locations, or roughly 15 percent of its U.S. footprint, after acquiring Carrols Restaurant Group in 2024, it’s working to sell those back to franchisees and return to a system that’s about 99 percent franchised, Restaurant Dive reports.

Big hiring waves aren’t unusual in the restaurant industry, especially during busy seasons — chains such as Chipotle sought to hire 15,000 employees ahead of its 2023 “Burrito Season.” But Burger King’s push aims to hire several times as many as those efforts.

To put it in perspective, the entire foodservice and hospitality industry added about 749,000 workers in a single month earlier this year, according to Restaurant Dive. Burger King’s plan to bring on 60,000 workers would equal roughly 8 percent of that total. Though the company expects hiring to be spread out over time rather than all at once.