McDonald’s has shut all of its UK and Ireland restaurants to help stop the spread of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In his latest public address, prime minister Boris Johnson ordered “all shops selling non-essential goods” to close, having previously told pubs, cafes and restaurants, excluding takeaways, to close as soon as they reasonably could. McDonald’s has since taken the step to close all of its 1,270 stores across the UK and Ireland, a move which will see around 135,000 employees out of work.
“This is not a decision we are taking lightly, but one made with the well-being and safety of our employees in mind as well as in the best interests of our customers."
In a statement published on Twitter, McDonald’s said: “We have taken the difficult decision to close all McDonald’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland by 7pm on Monday 23rd March at the latest.“This is not a decision we are taking lightly, but one made with the well-being and safety of our employees in mind as well as in the best interests of our customers.“We will work with local community groups to responsibly distribute food and drink from our restaurants in the coming days.”A number of other food retailers have taken similar steps, including Greggs, Nando’s, KFC, Costa Coffee, Subway and Pizza Express.
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