McDonald’s hit by system failure, causing store closures globally
London/Hong Kong/New York (CNN) – McDonald’s experiences widespread technology outage
Major outage disrupts operations worldwide
McDonald’s, the global fast food giant, suffered a significant system failure causing store closures and disruption to online and app orders in several countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom.
The massive technology outage, affecting McDonald’s restaurants worldwide, started between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. local time. The disruption lasted several hours before the system gradually recovered. Despite the widespread store closures and interrupted services, the fast food corporation clarified that the incident was not a cybersecurity breach.
McDonald’s working to resolve the issue
McDonald’s is actively addressing the incident but has provided no specific details regarding the cause and geographical extent of the system failure. The outage impacted countless franchises, including McDonald’s Japan, where operations were temporarily suspended across many locations.
Meanwhile, the outage in the United Kingdom lasted between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time, forcing McDonald’s staff in London to take manual orders and communicate directly with kitchen staff to ensure operations continued smoothly.
Extent of the disruption
The technology failure affected McDonald’s restaurants nationwide in Australia and caused significant disruption in Hong Kong and Taiwan. McDonald’s Hong Kong, facing a system failure, advised customers to order directly at the restaurant counter due to dysfunctional mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks. Similarly, McDonald’s Taiwan temporarily halted transactions through McDelivery and experienced internet disruptions across some of its eateries.
Global scale of McDonald’s
McDonald’s operates a mammoth chain of over 41,800 restaurants spread across the globe. Its largest market, the United States, boasts nearly 13,500 stores. Japan follows with close to 3,000 outlets, the United Kingdom with approximately 1,500, and Australia with slightly over 1,000 restaurants.
McDonald’s has assured its customers and franchisees that it is actively investigating the system failure and making the necessary repairs to restore normal operations.
This story has been updated with additional information.
