McDonald’s location offering iPhones to new workers amid labor crunch

The nationwide labor shortage has gotten so bad that a desperate McDonald’s location in Illinois is offering a free iPhone after six months of work to try to lure new employees.

A photo of a window display advertising the promotion, which read “free iPhone after 6 months employment & meet employment criteria,” went viral on Twitter after it was shared over the weekend. While users joked about all of the potential loopholes to the offer, it shows how hard a time business owners are having attracting employees into the workforce just as the economy is emerging from the pandemic. Restaurants, in particular, are also preparing for the busy summer season.