India’s restaurant and quick-service restaurant (QSR) operators are actively hiring, intending to create approximately 500,000 jobs in the next year.
This trend coincides with both existing and new players in the industry aiming to expand their presence by opening new stores.
Companies like Mamagoto, Wow! Momo, McDonald’s, and Burger Singh are gearing up to increase their store count and workforce in the upcoming months, said executives.
The growth in hiring is attributed to increased customer spending and the industry’s expansion into tier-2 and -3 cities. According to Kabir Suri, the president of the National Restaurants Association of India, this surge is driven by a check on inflationary pressures.
Mamagoto intends to hire 400 individuals in the next year, concurrently opening 20 new stores. Similarly, Wow! Momo and McDonald’s have plans to increase their workforce by 1,200-1,500 people each within the next 12 to 15 months. On a larger scale, Burger Singh is aiming to open approximately 250 new stores and more than double its staff, reaching 2,500 employees by the end of 2024-25.
Suri, who is also the co-founder of Azure Hospitality, which owns the Mamagoto chain of restaurants, said that his company is looking at opening 20 new outlets in the next year. “This will create at least 350-400 new jobs,” he said.
Currently, Wow! Momo boasts close to 6,000 employees, with an addition of about 1,500 team members in the past year. The company plans to sustain this growth rate, aiming to expand its workforce at a similar pace over the next 12 months.
“We will be hiring around 1,500 to 2,000 people in the next 12 months as we continue to grow. Roughly, we are looking at opening 200 to 250 stores in the next 12-15 months,” said Sagar Daryani, CEO, Wow! Momo.
In alignment with its Vision 2027 strategy, Westlife Foodworld, the entity managing McDonald’s restaurants in western and southern India, envisions opening 40-45 stores annually. Their ambitious plan aims to reach a total of 580-630 restaurants by the year 2027.
“To support this vision, we plan to invest INR 1,400 crore towards expansion and job creation, which will drive our ambitious growth,” said Saurabh Kalra, managing director of Westlife Foodworld. “On average, every new store generates about 30-35 new employment positions, which can create approximately 1,200-1,500 jobs every year.”
