The conversation around labor has been an ongoing one for Chipotle in recent years as it navigated COVID-19 and settled back. From 2016 to 2022, the brand saw hourly turnover rise from 130 to 164 percent. But this was a difficult metric to track given external workforce events like “The Great Resignation,” expanded unemployment, and the subsequent restaffing of industries. For example, in 2022, research showed only 54 percent of quick-service employees reached 90 days on the job before exiting. The same year, the National Restaurant Association said first-time workers filled 27 percent of sector openings.
Rates began to turn more positive for Chipotle in 2023, however, as crew, kitchen leader, and service employees (the hourly result listed before) turnover improved to 145 percent. While still lofty, the drop marked the first downward movement since the pandemic.
CEO Scott Boatwright in Q1 noted turnover was holding steady at all-time lows, continuing observations made last year by now-Starbucks head Brian Niccol. Staffing levels, flipped, were also at all-time highs—an unsurprising point given Chipotle is opening more locations than it ever has. It brought 119 restaurants to market in Q4 2024 alone to close the year with 304 openings, including 257 with the order-ahead “Chipotlane.”
The brand opened another 57 to start 2025 and expects to debut 315–345 across the calendar on the road to 7,000 domestic stores (there were 3,781 as of March 31).
Chipotle on Wednesday released its latest Sustainability Report, which included updated turnover figures. The hourly number continued to slope down, ending 2024 at 164 percent.
Here’s how it’s tracking:
Restaurant hourly (crew, kitchen leader, service leader)
- 2024: 131 percent
- 2023: 145 percent
- 2022: 164 percent
- 2021: 194 percent
- 2020: 141 percent
- 2018: 144 percent
- 2017: 158 percent
- 2016: 130.1 percent
Restaurant salary (apprentice, GM, restaurateur)
- 2024: 25 percent
- 2023: 28 percent
- 2022: 43 percent
- 2021: 43 percent
- 2020: 31 percent
- 2018: 49.1 percent
- 2017: 37.1 percent
- 2016: 38.1 percent
Restaurant field staff (field leaders, team directors, regional VP)
- 2024: 11 percent
- 2023: 18 percent
- 2022: 19 percent
- 2021: 21 percent
- 2020: 16 percent
- 2018: 26.3 percent
- 2017: 18.7 percent
Staff employees
- 2024: 17 percent
- 2023: 22 percent
- 2022: 22 percent
Senior management
- 2024: 11 percent (CEO departure of Niccol to factor in)
- 2023: zero percent
- 2022: 12 percent
- 2021: 0 percent
So, in all, every number outside of senior management came down, with the biggest drop outside of hourly taking place with field staff at 7 percentage points.
Chipotle closed the year with 127,926 employees, a material rise from 114,186 the prior year and 102,925 to close 2022.
Of that, 63,575 employees were female and 62,511 male (1,734 not indicated).
Eighty-four percent of restaurant management roles were internal promotions. Across the company, there were 23,380 promotions in the U.S. last year—a bit lower than 24,127 a year earlier—and 231,082 total external and internal hires. That latter number was 220,552 in 2023, reflecting elevated hiring amid growth. The hire rate was 90 percent and promotion rate 10 percent.
The promotion rate to just GM in the U.S. was 81 percent and to “apprentice” 90 percent.
Here’s a look at Chipotle’s benefits suite:
Chipotle in the report also noted it was recognized as the leading company for high school students to start a career by The American Opportunity Index, for the first time. It has helped customers donate more than $20 million since 2020 through the Round Up for Real Change program, and support over 100 organizations via the Chip In and Dish Out programs. Chipotle hosted 34,000 fundraisers at restaurants as well.
Additionally, the company last year launched its first military veteran workshop for hiring managers to provide practical, ready-to-use interview practices and solutions to help attract and retain military veterans and their partners.
Some other points from the Report included:
- The company achieved its goal of partnering with our growers to convert 400 acres of conventional farmland to organic farmland via transitional growing methods by 2025, transitioning 425 acres by the end of 2024.
- Chipotle sourced more local produce ever, purchasing 47 million pounds.
- All of Chipotle’s U.S. suppliers were held accountable to the company’s rigorous Food with Integrity standards.
- It achieved a 15 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from a 2019 base year. By 2030, the company aims to report a 50 percent reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions from a 2019 base year.
- Chipotle purchased 61 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
- It diverted 50 percent of waste generated from landfill.
To progress toward a long-term goal of 100 percent renewable energy usage at its U.S. restaurants, Chipotle added it’s entered into an agreement with Nexamp, the nation’s largest community solar provider, to purchase renewable energy bill credits to support the construction and operation of 15 new community solar farms with a generation capacity of 75 megawatts in Illinois, New York, Maryland, and Maine, bringing Chipotle’s support of 90 megawatts of new capacity in these regions.
Under the agreement, Chipotle is subscribed to credits associated with 20 megawatts from the portfolio of projects while Nexamp states the remaining 55 megawatts will provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings to approximately 9,000 local families, non-profits and other businesses as a result of financial incentives provided by local utilities to use the renewable energy. Construction is underway and Nexamp expects the sites to be operating later this year.
Chipotle’s same-store sales turned declined 0.4 percent in Q1—the first red result since 2020. The company credited economic uncertainty. It reported lower transactions of 2.3 percent, partially offset by a 1.9 percent increase in average check.
