McDonald’s Has Officially Said That They Will Be Raising Prices To Keep Pace With Growing Costs

If you’ve gotten sticker shock at the gas station recently, prepare to get it when you order a burger and fries too. Gas prices aren’t the only thing going up. McDonald’s has also announced that they will be increasing their prices. This is not speculation. It’s really happening.

The Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald’s is going to raise prices approximately 6%, and this price increase is going to happen in the near future. We don’t know an exact day, but soon.

There are multiple reasons that McDonald’s is going to raise menu prices, but they all lead back to one thing – money. McDonald’s is paying more than in pre-pandemic times for just about everything they need to keep their restaurants running. They have increased the salaries of their employees. They are also paying more for essential supplies including paper products and food.

Even though McDonald’s is paying it’s employees more than in pre-pandemic times, the fast food chain is still having trouble retaining employees. That means a lot of employees are new to the job and not as fast or efficient as more experienced employees would be. This could lead to longer wait times for customers and possibly even more incorrect orders.

In addition, not having enough employees means there may not be enough employees to keep the restaurants open as long as they would otherwise be open during the day, and the restaurants may be short-staffed when they are open. Again, this could lead to longer wait times for customers and could possibly lead to customers deciding to eat somewhere else if their local McDonald’s location closes earlier than another fast food chain.

Besides the increased costs, approximately 3000 McDonald’s locations are functioning without the use of their dining rooms being open. That means customers at these locations are limited to take out or drive-thru service only which could have a negative impact on their business. These dining rooms are closed due to high Covid-19 infection rates in certain areas of the United States.

Despite the increased costs and closed dining rooms, it’s not like McDonald’s is about to file bankruptcy or anything like that. They are actually doing okay. According to the Wall Street Journal, “McDonald’s said Wednesday that global same-store sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30 increased 10.2% compared with the same period before the pandemic. U.S. same-store sales were up 14.6% compared with the equivalent 2019 period.” In addition, “McDonald’s reported quarterly net income climbed 22% from the same quarter a year earlier, rising to $2.15 billion. Sales totaling $6.2 billion increased 14% from the previous year’s period.”

Does it surprise you that McDonald’s is struggling to retain employees even though they are paying their employees more? Does it surprise you that McDonald’s is raising menu prices even though the company’s quarterly earnings have actually increased?