With Thousands of Outlets in 100 Countries, Here's How McDonald's Entered Indonesia

Dream - McDonald's fast food restaurant has opened 200 outlets in Indonesia, supported by more than 14,000 employees.

McDonald's itself was first opened in 1955 in California, United States. With its flagship product, the Big Mac burger. Until now, McDonald's has thousands of restaurants spread across more than 100 countries, including Indonesia.

So, how did McDonald's enter Indonesia and become one of the favorite fast food restaurants in the country?

According to its official website, McDonald's first entered Indonesia in 1991 by opening its first restaurant in Sarinah, Thamrin.

Then, in 1994, McDonald's obtained a halal certificate from the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) and became the first fast food restaurant in Indonesia to receive it.

Then, in May 2007, McDonald's Indonesia opened its first McCafe at McDonald's Kemang.

By 2009, PT. Rekso Nasional Food (RNF), a subsidiary of the Rekso Group, signed a Master Franchise Agreement with McDonald's International Property Company (MIPCO).

With this agreement, PT. RNF was given permission to operate all McDonald's restaurants and open new restaurants throughout Indonesia.

"PT. RNF, through McDonald's Indonesia, is fully committed to providing the best service to customers, delivering top-quality food, and providing great benefits to the Indonesian society," said McDonald's Indonesia.

After obtaining the license, PT. RNF opened its first restaurant in Kebo Iwa, Bali, in December 2009, collaborating with renowned Indonesian architect Francis Surjaseputra. As mentioned earlier, thanks to PT. RNF, McDonald's Indonesia has expanded to hundreds of outlets.

Then, in June 2010, McDonald's Indonesia opened its 100th restaurant in Kelapa Gading and broke the Muri record during the opening ceremony. In the same year, in December, the first McDonald's restaurant in Manado was opened.

McDonald's Indonesia was named by Frontier as the most popular fast food restaurant in Indonesia in June 2011.

McDonald's Employees to Face Mass Layoffs in April 2023, Here's the Reason

Dream - McDonald's fast food restaurant will carry out mass layoffs for its employees in the United States (US) in April 2023.

This unpleasant news was announced directly by McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski in his office memo on Friday, January 6, 2023.

"We will evaluate the roles and levels of employment in several parts of the organization, and there will be difficult discussions and decisions in the future," said Kempczinski, as quoted from CNN on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

"Certain initiatives will be prioritized or stopped altogether. This will help us move faster as an organization, reduce our global costs, and free up resources to invest in our growth," he added.

Kempczinski stated that the purpose of the layoffs is not to cut costs but to help the company innovate. Through the reorganization, the company can refocus its priorities and accelerate restaurant expansion.

"Today, we are divided into silos with headquarters, segments, and markets. This approach is outdated and limiting. We try to solve the same problems repeatedly, we don't always share ideas, and we are slow to innovate," he said, as quoted from CNBC.

However, McDonald's has not informed how many workers will be affected by the layoffs for the reorganization. The same goes for the number of new restaurants planned to be built in 2023.

"We need to accelerate the opening of our restaurants to fully capture the increased demand that we have been driving for the past few years," he said.

Currently, McDonald's organization is divided into three segments: the US, internationally operated markets, and internationally licensed development markets. The company operates in 119 markets worldwide.