McDonald's has been hit by a system failure that closed stores and disrupted online and app orders in countries as far apart as the United States, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. "We are aware of a technology outage, which impacted our restaurants; the issue is now being resolved," McDonald's (MCD) said in a statement to CNN Friday. "Notably, the issue is not related to a cybersecurity event." A spokesperson declined to give further details about the cause or geographical extent of the outage. A cashier at a McDonald's store in New York told CNN that the store's IT system went down around 1 a.m. and came back around 5 a.m. Meanwhile, McDonald's Japan said in a post on X Friday: "Many stores across the country have temporarily suspended operations." In the UK, Maria Avram, who works at a McDonald's restaurant in London, told CNN that there was a system outage between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m. and 3 a.m. ET), and staff had to take orders in person and tell colleagues in the kitchen what to cook. A spokesperson for McDonald's Australia told CNN that its restaurants nationwide were affected by the outage. Problems were also reported in Hong Kong and Taiwan. McDonald's Hong Kong said on Facebook: "Due to a computer system failure, the mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks are not functioning. Please order directly at the restaurant counter." The fast food chain's McDelivery service in Taiwan said on its website: "The system is under maintenance, and online and telephone ordering services are temporarily suspended." Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS cited McDonald's Taiwan as saying Friday that some of its eateries, as well as McDelivery, were temporarily unable to conduct transactions due to internet disruptions. McDonald's assured customers that it is investigating the situation and making necessary repairs, TVBS said. McDonald's has more than 41,800 stores around the world, with nearly 13,500 in the United States, its biggest market. Of the other countries known to be affected, Japan has the largest number of McDonald's restaurants — nearly 3,000 — followed by the UK, with close to 1,500 stores, and Australia, with just over 1,000. — CNN
