Free housing comes with the job at McDonald’s Hungary

In an attempt to fill its job openings, McDonald’s Hungary has found a creative way to entice future employees: the company offers free housing, while employees only have to pay the utilities.

Not enough employees

The company’s decision to offer such a major extra is another example of how there is a huge shortage of workers in Eastern Europe, a region that struggles to keep its younger inhabitants from going to Western Europe and that is left with an ever-aging local population. Czech job openings exploded 166 % over the past two years, to 110,000, while job openings also doubled since last December in Poland.

McDonald’s is not the only company using extreme measures to lure new employees. Lidl, for example, has increased its employees’ wages by 20 % in Hungary and by 15 % in Czechia. The increased wage bill in Eastern Europe may actually cause regional investments to slow down, which could cause havoc for the local economy. Allegedly, car manufacturer Kia has already scrapped a major new project in Hungary, because it cannot attract enough employees.