The company has had to look overseas for new staff.
Supermac’s boss Pat McDonagh has said that the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) “caused people to get a bit lazy” as the company looks overseas for new workers.
The chain is now specifically recruiting staff from abroad as a result of a shortage of Irish applicants.
McDonagh was commenting as Supermac’s opens a new motorway plaza outside in Tuam in Galway.
According to RTÉ News, McDonagh cited the PUP as a key reason for the lack of available workers in Ireland.
“I think the PUP caused people to get a bit lazy,” he said.
“There are multiple reasons why Irish people are not interested in working in Supermac’s and unfortunately, there is a scarcity of workers for every line of work right now, with some businesses only able to open two days a week because of a shortage of staff.”
McDonagh posited that many Irish workers have “moved on” from the catering business, possibly due to a lack of security and difficult hours.
“We would have 70% Irish staff on the team for the Tuam site but if we didn’t have the 30% non Irish national staff we would not be able to open it without them,” he added.
According to McDonagh – who has employed an individual specifically to recruit staff from overseas – the current Supermac’s workforce is 80% Irish and 20% foreign workers.
Featured Image via Laura Hutton / RollingNews.ie
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