Illinois McDonald’s Offers Free Iphones To New Hires Amid Labor Shortage

Thanks to President Biden’s trillions in stimmy checks that pay unemployed Americans more for sitting on their ass than having a job, the nationwide job shortage continues to worsen. The service industry has been impacted the most as one fast food restaurant in Illinois offers free iPhones to new hires. 

Twitter user “Bragard“ posted a picture of a promotional ad in the window of a McDonald’s in Illinois that read: “Now Hiring – Free iPhone.”

There was no mention of what type of iPhone, but the fine print stated: “After six months employment & meet employment criteria,” the new hire would be rewarded with a new smartphone. 

Bragard’s tweet went viral with more than a quarter-million likes and 36k retweets.

A McDonald’s worker at the Altamont, Illinois location confirmed to Bussiness Insider that the promotion was, in fact, real. 

A spokesperson for the company told Insider the fast-food chain was increasing recruitment ahead of the summer. It said individual restaurants offered special promotions and a range of benefits, including pay incentives, such as paid time off, sign-on and referral bonuses, and appreciation pay. 

The promotion comes as one McDonald’s in Flordia offered people $50 to just show up to an interview. The fast-food industry has been hit the hardest with labor shortages as fewer people are returning to the workforce. 

Last month, JPMorgan warned clients of a nationwide labor shortage. 

Besides hiring promotions, McDonald’s is raising the hourly wages for its employees at corporate-owned locations by 10% over the next several months. This leaves out stores owned by franchisees. 

“If you want to look like you’re raising wages to $15 an hour, then you should actually raise wages to $15 an hour, for every McDonald’s worker in this country, minimum,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said last week.

“We’re not buying it. We’re not falling for it.”

Wage push inflation has a spiral effect – say goodbye to “Dollar Menu” prices. 

More or less, soaring labor costs for fast food restaurants will incentivize them to automate to achieve lower costs.