By DEE-ANN DURBIN

McDonald’s said Monday it plans to hire up to 375,000 U.S. restaurant employees this summer, its biggest hiring push in years.

The Chicago burger giant said the beefed-up job openings are partly due to a U.S. expansion. The company, which has more than 13,500 restaurants in the U.S., plans to open 900 more by 2027.

U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer joined McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger at a McDonald’s restaurant near Columbus, Ohio, for the hiring announcement.

“McDonald’s is sparking a ripple effect of prosperity for our workers, communities and the economy,” DeRemer said. “By expanding their workforce, the corporation will be driving investment and setting the standard for industry growth, whether as a launch pad for a different career or as a ladder for internal achievements.”

McDonald’s said its last big summer hiring spree came in 2020, when it announced plans to add 260,000 workers. At the time, the company was reopening restaurants that were closed in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its decision to staff up for this summer signals optimism that U.S. restaurant traffic will improve as the year unfolds.

In the January-March period, McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — slumped 3.6%. That was the biggest U.S. decline McDonald’s has seen since the pandemic shuttered stores, restaurants, schools and other public spaces in 2020.

McDonald’s said lower- and middle-income consumers, worried about inflation and the economic outlook, cut back on fast food during the January-March period.

But other restaurant operators seem to share its optimism. U.S. restaurants and bars added more than 46,000 jobs in March and April, according to the National Restaurant Association. Chipotle said in February that it hoped to hire 20,000 workers.

Overall hiring also continues to be strong. American employers added 177,000 jobs in April as the job market showed resilience despite the uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

McDonald’s also used Monday’s event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Archways to Opportunity program, which has given tuition assistance, English lessons and career services to more than 90,000 employees. McDonald’s said the program has doled out $240 million in tuition assistance alone.

Anamaria Monterroso, an eight-year veteran at McDonald’s, said Archways to Opportunity will help her become of the first member of her family to graduate from college. Monterroso is currently working toward her degree in human resources at Colorado Technical University.

“Just because you work in fast food doesn’t mean your dreams end there,” Monterroso said.