Restaurant Brands’ Tim Hortons in ‘Hiring Crisis’: BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Restaurant Brands International Inc. is facing a staffing crisis at its Tim Hortons chain tied to wage issues, according to emails obtained by BNN Bloomberg.

General managers at least 22 Tim Hortons locations have been discussing the “hiring crisis” for weeks as they struggle to retain staff and recruit new workers, according to internal emails seen by and interviews conducted by BNN Bloomberg. Employees also outlined other challenges, including staff burnout and complaints about pay disparities. 

Most of the 22 stores are suburban stores outside Toronto that are seeing high customer traffic, creating pressure for workers at those locations. Tim Hortons saw 8.9% sales growth in the third quarter at stores that have been open for at least a year.

Wages have been slower to rise in Canada than in the U.S., despite a faster rate of job growth in the Covid-19 recovery. The Canadian economy has regained the 3 million jobs lost in the early months of the pandemic. 

A spokeswoman for Tim Hortons said the company doesn't interfere with wages set by franchisees. 

“Our 4,000 Tim Hortons restaurants are owned and operated by 1,500 restaurant owners across Canada,” Meghan Giffin, a spokeswoman for Tim Hortons, said in response to questions from BNN Bloomberg. “So you can imagine that there is a wide range of salary levels and annual salary increases across our system.” 

Restaurant Brands senior managers have been meeting with restaurant owners “to design recruitment campaigns and share best practices across the country of owners that have had great success in attracting talent,” she added.  

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