McDonald’s Strikes Major Tech Deal with Capgemini

McDonald’s has struck a partnership with Capgemini to accelerate the digital overhaul of its restaurants, which has big Chicago employment implications inside and outside the company. About 100 McDonald’s tech workers will become Capgemini employees, and the Paris-based outsourcing and consulting company plans a major Chicago expansion that will add about 500 jobs, most of them in tech roles. Capgemini, which has about 1,600 workers in the Chicago area, will open a global center focused on retail technology in the spring that will employ 400 to 600 people in addition to the McDonald’s workers joining the firm, said Tim Bridges, Capgemini’s head of global consumer products, retail and distribution. The company plans to partner with two local universities, which it declined to name because the deals are not finalized. “For us in the U.S. and globally, a lot of our leadership is in Chicago,” Bridges said. “Part of it is access to talent. If you want to go to the West Coast or Europe, it’s a central location. You can get anywhere in the U.S. from Chicago for lunch.”In addition to McDonald’s employees who are transferring in, Capgemini will bring in employees currently assigned to other companies, such as Cisco. The operation will be temporarily housed in Rosemont, but the company will be searching for additional space with access to O’Hare International Airport.

McDonald’s says it’s moving less than 20 percent of its technology workers from its payroll to Capgemini. Almost all the employees offered positions accepted them, said Jim Sappington, McDonald’s executive vice president for operations, digital and technology. “Moving at the pace we’re moving — with 37,000 restaurants — the need to have the right expertise at the right time, flexibility to get right resources in place quickly is of extreme importance. We keep world-class restaurant technology expertise in-house, leveraging our talent and increasing that with Capgemini.” n 2004, McDonald’s outsourced basic computer support, including mainframes, servers and desktops. Capgemini recently landed a similar deal with Meijer, the grocery chain based in Grand Rapids, Mich. The move is risky. McDonald’s is still in the middle of its mobile technology upgrade, with more countries and features to roll out.

And the company’s stock is priced for perfection, trading near its recent high of $159.07 on July 25 and up 70 percent since Steve Easterbrook took over as CEO in March 2015. Easterbrook’s turnaround plan, which includes cost-cutting and an overhaul of menus and restaurants, depends heavily on technology. Its “Experience of the Future” idea for restaurants includes table service, self-serve ordering kiosks and an expanded McCafe menu. The company also has partnered with Uber Eats to offer food delivery. Easterbrook also promised Wall Street that McDonald’s would cut $500 million in costs by the end of this year. McDonald’s hinted at a tech restructuring in December, when Atif Rafiq, its chief digital officer who spearheaded its mobile upgrade, was hired by Volvo. “We appreciate Atif Rafiq’s efforts over the last several years,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “His departure provides an opportunity to further align our structure as we accelerate the digital experience our customers want including rolling out mobile order and pay in 2017 and 2018 in the U.S. and our international lead markets.” – Source: Crain’s Chicago Business.