McDonald’s locations across the world were forced to temporarily shut down Friday over a “technology system outage.”
Multiple McDonald’s restaurants reported system failures, causing some locations to temporarily close as they were being fixed, according to The Associated Press (AP).
“McDonald’s experienced a global technology system outage, which was quickly identified and corrected. Many markets are back online, and the rest are in the process of coming back online,” a corporate statement issued by Brian Rice, the company’s Global Chief Information Officer, said.
A technology outage grounded McDonald’s operations at many of its outlets worldwide, including Japan and Australia.
The outage was unrelated to cyber-security and McDonald’s has apologised to customers.
📸Reuters#mcdonalds #fastfood #tech #techoutage #mcdonaldsdown pic.twitter.com/961cNFQC4f— CGTN Europe (@CGTNEurope) March 15, 2024
“The issue was not directly caused by a cybersecurity event; rather, it was caused by a third-party provider during a configuration change,” the statement added.
Social media was abuzz with announcements from McDonald’s restaurants and complaints from customers. Affected locations varied from places like Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom, the AP reported.
Some restaurants in Bangkok, Milan and London reported to have resolved the issue, according to the outlet. One worker in Bangkok reportedly said the system was down for roughly one hour, rendering it impossible for the restaurant to process online or credit card purchases. Cash purchases were unaffected, the outlet reported. (RELATED: McDonald’s Announces Limited Run Of Double Big Mac Burger)
“All McDonald’s restaurants are connected to a global network and that’s the problem. Right now we are rebooting all systems and we hope to be back up and running as usual soon,” Patrik Hjelte, proprietor of several McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden, told local newspaper Nya Wermlands Tidningen.
A McDonald’s spokesperson in Denmark said the “technology failure” was fixed and its restaurants have since reopened, the AP reported. One worker in Milan reportedly said their restaurant was operational again as well, noting that a technician guided employees in restoring the system.