MANILA — McDonald's Philippines on Thursday said it would open 20,000 job opportunities to Filipinos as it pursues expansion plans in the country.

McDonald's Philippines, under its master franchise holder and owner Dr. George Yang and President and CEO Kenneth Yang, now has close to 60,000 employees.

“With every new store that we open, we are able to provide employment opportunities in local communities where the store is located. We directly hire all our people and do not practice contractualization," said Kenneth S. Yang, President and CEO of McDonald’s Philippines.

"We believe that if our people working in the restaurants have job security first, it will allow them to focus and do well in their job of serving our customers," he said, adding that this has been the practice since the first store opened in 1981.

McDonald's Philippines said it also provides world-class training to make their employees competitive. It is also an equal opportunity employer, providing jobs to working students, and other Filipinos regardless of background, age, gender or sexual orientation.

It also partnered with different organization to provide training to out-of-school youth, it said.

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