Chipotle aims for 20,000 new spring hires
Chipotle Mexican Grill is increasing its goal from last year for its annual “Burrito Season” hiring campaign.
The fast-casual giant is looking to hire 20,000 additional employees for its busiest time of the year, running from March to May, to ensure its more than 3,700 restaurants worldwide are “fully staffed.” Last year, Chipotle aimed to hire 19,000 new workers for the busy spring season.
This year will be the first “Burrito Season” since Chipotle started using the AI-based Paradox conversational hiring system. The technology features a virtual team member named "Ava Cado" who uses Conversational AI to chat with candidates, answer their questions about Chipotle, collect basic information, schedule interviews for hiring managers, and send offers to candidates who are selected by managers.
Chipotle says the new technology has shortened the average amount of time it takes for a candidate to complete their application and start on the job from 12 days to four days, nearly doubled Chipotle's applicant flow, and increased candidate application completion rate to over 85% from approximately 50%.
"'Burrito Season' presents candidates with an opportunity to start here, stay here, and reach their career goals with us," said Ilene Eskenazi, chief human resources officer at Chipotle. "As current team members have demonstrated, our restaurants can be the foundation of a fulfilling career, and we're committed to bringing in the best candidates who share our values and onboarding them as efficiently as possible."
To attract new hires, Chipotle is touting upward mobility and competitive benefits. In 2024, the company promoted 23,000 team members, and 85% of all restaurant management role promotions were internal. At the company's Field Leader level, a leadership position responsible for a patch or an average of eight restaurant locations in a region, 84% have been promoted internally.
[READ MORE: Chipotle to open 315 to 345 locations in 2025; Q4 sales, traffic up]
Chipotle's benefits include a crew bonus, which allows its restaurant employees the opportunity to earn an extra month's worth of pay each year, access to mental health care and English as a second language courses for employees and their families, tuition reimbursement and debt-free college degrees, free meals and more. The company says its retention rate is two-times higher among employees enrolled in its education assistance program, and crew members participating are six-times more likely to move into a management role.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Chipotle operates more than 3,700 restaurants in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates. It is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe.
