McDonald’s told some of its workers to stay home. It wanted to fire them remotely. It is not exactly a proud day for management, which might have had the courage to do it face-to-face.

According to NPR, “As part of a much larger company restructuring, McDonald’s Corp. has recently informed its employees about the impending layoffs and has temporarily closed all of its U.S. offices this week.” McDonald’s CEO says he expects a recession. He added that low-income customers are not spending as much money as they used to.

In its most recently released quarter, same-store sales rose 12% worldwide compared to the same month a year ago. McDonald’s is doing very well. Revenue for the period was flat at $6 billion. Net income rose 16% to $1.9 billion. McDonald’s is doing very well. (They are planning to sell donuts.)

The recession excuse seems thin. Management’s comments about the future were very bullish.

Why are layoffs across many industries so large in the last several months? One reason is an expected recession. The other is that companies have “over-hired,” a code word for bad management.

McDonald’s has shown it is often not hit hard by the recession. Cost-conscious customers eat there because they can get inexpensive meals. (These are the most valuable food brands in the world.)

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While layoffs are awful for employees, when they are done remotely, it signals that it is not even worth management’s time to take a day with departing workers. This means they can be dispensed of dispassionately. It has become a new habit of large companies, which is shameful.

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