American City Business Journals/Dallas:
Brinker International Inc., the parent company of casual dining chains Chili’s, Maggiano’s Little Italy and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina restaurants, confirmed news reports Monday that the restaurant company laid off 155 employees last week after closing 35 locations, a Brinker spokeswoman confirmed Monday.
The transition is attributed to a streamlining process associated with the company’s focus on developing more franchise-owned restaurant operations.
Dallas-based Brinker will eliminate 55 positions at its North Texas home office and 100 positions in the field nationwide. Brinker has 1,000 employees working at its corporate support center in Dallas and 100,000 employees nationwide, with 8,500 employees working both full-time and part-time in the Dallas/Fort Worth market alone.
The layoffs arrive after Brinker announced completion of the sale of Romano’s Macaroni & Grill.