Technology

Chipotle adding 20K employees via AI-powered hiring platform

Photo: Chipotle

February 19, 2025

Chipotle Mexican Grill is launching an AI-powered hiring campaign to hire over 20,000 workers, ensuring that its 3,700 restaurants are staffed for "Burrito Season," the company's busiest time of year running from March to May.

"'Burrito Season' presents candidates with an opportunity to start here, stay here and reach their career goals with us," Ilene Eskenazi, chief human resources officer, said in a company press release. "As current team members have demonstrated, our restaurants can be the foundation of a fulfilling career, and we're committed to bringing in the best candidates who share our values and onboarding them as efficiently as possible."

Ava Cado and Paradox

In October last year, Chipotle announced its partnership with Paradox to introduce a platform using AI featuring a virtual team member named "Ava Cado" who uses conversational AI to chat with candidates, answer their questions and collect basic information to make hiring more efficient. It has:

• Shortened the average amount of time it takes for a candidate to complete their application and start on the job from 12 days to four days.
• Nearly doubled Chipotle's applicant flow.
• Increased Chipotle's candidate application completion rate to over 85% from approximately 50%.

Chipotle, which hopes to have 7,000 locations in North America, is also rolling out TV ads showcasing its real team members to help attract talent for the additional job openings.

Last year, the company promoted 23,000 team members, and 85% of all restaurant management role promotions were internal. Five out of 11 regional vice presidents at Chipotle started their careers as crew members and worked their ways up to the senior level of operations, managing a region of the country with sales over $1 billion, according to the release.

At the company's field leader level, a leadership position responsible for a patch or an average of eight restaurant locations in a region, 84% have been promoted internally and now oversee segments of Chipotle's business that achieve an average of $24 million in sales per year.

Chipotle's benefits include a crew bonus, which allows its restaurant employees the opportunity to earn an extra month's worth of pay each year; access to mental health care and English as a second language courses for employees and their families; tuition reimbursement and debt-free college degrees; free meals and more.

The company has found its retention rate is two times higher among employees enrolled in its education assistance program and crew members participating are six times more likely to move into a management role.