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Shake Shack just unveiled a new design concept in Atlanta that includes the companys first-ever restaurant with a full bar, encouraging diners to linger longer over boozy chocolate shakes. The new restaurant will be the second-largest Shake Shack ever by square footage and is located in the Battery, a mixed-use development space thats adjacent to Truist Park, where the Atlanta Braves baseball team plays. The fast-casual burger chain says it will open more restaurants with a full bar if the concept is well received, adding a new element to the chains accelerated store opening strategy. Shake Shack has been embracing a wider array of distinct restaurant formats, including drive-throughs in the suburbs, smaller formats that prioritize to-go orders, and locations in stadiums, train stations, and airports. In 2025, Shake Shack is projected to open 45 to 50 new company-owned locations, the most ever in a single year. The North Star goal is to operate at least 1,500 Shake Shack company-owned locations over time, well above the prior aspiration of 450 that was shared with investors when Shake Shack filed to go public in 2015. We know that one of the biggest barriers to entry for Shake Shack is that there’s just not a Shake Shack close enough to you, says Andrew McCaughan, Shake Shacks chief development officer, during an interview with Fast Company. So were certainly trying to solve that problem. [Photo: Shake Shack] The new Atlanta location features 115 total seats, including 23 at the bar, and the interior decor includes a mural, a wall of free arcade games, and 14 televisions to show sporting events. Theres also a walk-up pickup window for to-go purchases and a hot dog cart in front of the restaurant on game days. But the most unique element is the bar with a wide range of speciality cocktails priced between $12 and $14. Theres a lemon fizz mixed with Titos vodka and St-Germain Elderflower liqueur; a Patrón margarita; and a boozy espresso shake that blends chocolate frozen custard with Jameson Irish whiskey, Mr Black Coffee liqueur, and La Colombe cold brew, topped with whipped cream. Alcohol has been foundational and we offer it in many Shacks across the board, says McCaughan of the chains long history of selling wine and beer, including at the first-ever restaurant in Manhattans Madison Square Park in the earliest days of operation. Shake Shack says the inspiration behind the full bar came from the Shake Shacks licensing partners, who have already experimented with the format at the Denver airport and the Atlantis luxury resort in the Bahamas. The chains expansion plans come as sales continue to swing upward, with total revenue increasing 15% to $1.25 billion in fiscal 2024 from the prior year, bolstered by both new restaurant openings and a 3.6% increase in same-Shack spots open for 24 fiscal months or longer. Total revenue also leapt by nearly 11% in the most-recent fiscal first quarter results posted in May. With only 380 U.S. locations and another 210 internationally, Shake Shacks ambitious growth plans still have a long road ahead. The new growth target was set by a newer management team led by CEO Rob Lynch, who joined in 2024 after previously serving as president and CEO of pizza restaurant Papa Johns International. He succeeded Randy Garutti, who retired after working for Shake Shack for more than two decades. Shake Shack also lured COO Stephanie Sentell from Arbys owner Inspire Brands and has added more outside restaurant expertise to the companys board in an agreement that helped avoid a proxy battle with activist investor Engaged Capital. Some experts say that bringing in fresh perspectives have helped Shake Shack run more efficient and consistent operations. This approach similarly helped Chipotle Mexican Grill after founder Steve Ells stepped down and Brian Niccol became CEO in 2018. Niccol got mostly good marks for his work at Chipotle and has since been tapped by Starbucks to help the coffee giant enact a turnaround. Chipotle operates over 3,700 restaurants and is aiming to reach 7,000 locations in North America over the long term. Brian M. Vaccaro, managing director of restaurants at investment bank Raymond James, says hes long been impressed with the brands average unit volume, which Shake Shack is targeting in the range of $2.8 million to $4 million per location. That demonstrates to us that Shake Shack is a differentiated brand that can have success in a wider range across the country, says Vaccaro. With the optimized operations and improved margins, we think it can drive some pretty positive shareholder returns. [Photo: Shake Shack] On top of recent menu innovations including the return of a summer BBQ menu and fried pickles, the latter the first-ever side item added to the menu, Shake Shacks embrace of technology has also evolved. The company unveiled its first self-serve kiosk in New York City in 2017 and after some early bumps in getting these devices to work for guests, has since rolled them out to nearly all locations. McCaughan says the kiosks have allowed Shake Shack to shift employee resources away from the cashier station to food preparation. That was a shift we made, allowing technology to play a better role interacting with the guests, he adds. In the Atlanta restaurant and a nearby kitchen innovation lab that recently opened, Shake Shack is testing new kitchen equipment that can help make sandwiches and shakes more efficiently, but also retain the chains food preparation standards. Were taking a fresh look, says McCaugan, of the companys more engineer-focused approach to rethink time-saving machinery for fryers and griddles. But, he says the chain wont be embracing more autonomous-focused efforts like the Infinite Kitchen thats being explored by rival Sweetgreen and utilizes robotics to mix up salads. We dont necessarily see the value-add today, says McCaughan. Weve looked at all that equipment in the past.
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E-Commerce
As summer begins and the last month of spring draws to a close, many employees in the technology industry have had their lives disrupted due to layoffs. Several tech companies have cut workers this month, including some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Here are some of the highest-profile firms that have reduced their workforce in June 2025. Microsoft The Redmond, Washington, company has the distinction of being the only one on this list with two rounds of layoffs in Juneone at the beginning of the month and one at the end. Worse, these June layoffs follow the Windows-makers massive layoffs in May, which saw the company cut around 6,000 jobsnearly 3% of its global workforce. On June 2, GeekWire reported that Microsoft was making additional cuts305 to be exact. This time, the job cuts were all located in the companys home state of Washington. We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace, a Microsoft spokesperson told GeekWire of the losses. Xbox (Microsoft) But Microsoft wasnt done with cutting jobs. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft would cut jobs at its Xbox gaming division. However, these job cuts may not come until next week. Its unknown just how many jobs will be lost, but Bloomberg says Xbox division managers are expecting substantial cuts across the entire group. The Xbox job cuts are also expected to be part of a larger workforce reduction. Bloomberg says Microsoft will cut thousands of jobs next week. If the job cuts do happen, they are likely to occur on or around Monday, June 30, the last day of Microsofts 2025 fiscal year. Fast Company reached out to Microsoft for comment. ZoomInfo Technologies The Vancouver, Washington, online marketing company that provides B2B software for sales, recruiting, and marketing professionals announced on June 9 that it plans to lay off 150 workers in June. That represents about 4% of the companys 3,500-strong workforce. According to The Oregonian, ZoomInfo CEO Henry Schuck called the job cuts a very difficult, but necessary, decision in an email to employees. Schuck went on to say that the workforce reductions will enable the company to focus on its core business parts and simplify decision-making. Google The search giant is laying off 25% of its Google TV team, according to a report from The Information (via 9to5Google). The cuts reportedly came after Google reduced Google TVs budget by 10%. Its unknown exactly how many jobs were lost, but the Google TV team reportedly consisted of around 300 people before the cuts, so 25% of that number suggests about 75 jobs were lost. We’ve reached out to Google for comment. Interestingly, the cuts at Google TV may have less to do with the Google TV smart television software and more to do with another Google home entertainment product: YouTube. Google is reportedly redesigning YouTube to make it appear more like a premium video streaming service, similar to Netflix or Disney Plus. The reduction in Google TVs budget may be so that the funds can be reallocated to YouTube. The Walt Disney Company Disney would not typically be considered a tech company, but when it comes to the House of Mouses latest round of layoffs, the categorization fits. Thats because the company has laid off workers in its product and technology divisions. Specifically, Business Insider reports that Disney product and technology chief Adam Smith, who oversees technologies designed to enhance the companys various streaming servicesincluding Disney Plus, Hulu, and the upcoming ESPN streaming servicehas cut under 2% of the product and tech divisions. The exact number of tech jobs lost is unknown, but the job cuts were reportedly made with the aim of rebalancing resources in the affected divisions. We’ve reached out to Disney for comment. Over 60,000 tech employees laid off in 2025 so far Unfortunately, Junes latest tech layoffs are just a fraction of the job losses that the sector has seen this year. According to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, 147 tech companies have laid off 63,443 workers in 2025 so far. The end of June represents the midway point of the year, and if the second half of 2025 matches the first, it would mean that around 127,000 tech jobs will be lost in 2025. Yet the final number may be more or less, as past layoffs arent a predictor of future ones. In all of 2024, 551 tech companies laid off 152,922 workers, according to Layoffs.fyi. That was down significantly from 2023, which saw 1,193 tech companies lay off 264,220 workers. In 2022, 1,064 tech companies laid off 165,269 employees.
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E-Commerce
U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut legislation would effectively transfer wealth from younger Americans to older generations, nonpartisan analysts say. Though the bill contains tax breaks for parents, newborns, private-school students and other younger Americans, those benefits would be outweighed by the trillions of dollars it would add to the $36.2 trillion national debt, they say. That could push down economic growth over the long term and leave younger people saddled with higher taxes and mortgage payments. “Future generations are kind of left holding the bag,” said Kent Smetters, director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model. The nonpartisan research organization found that a 40-year-old earning close to the median income would effectively lose $7,500 over the course of a lifetime if the bill became law. A 70-year-old with the same income, by contrast, would end up $17,500 richer. Several factors contribute to this disparity. Younger workers, who typically earn less, would not benefit as much from the bill’s income tax cuts compared to those at the peak of their earning years. They would also be more exposed to cutbacks in student aid and the Medicaid health program, which covers 4 out of 10 hospital births in the United States. “In the short term the benefits are certainly tilted towards higher earners, which is often a good proxy for age,” said Jessica Riedl of the conservative Manhattan Institute. But the biggest factor, analysts say, is the $3 trillion the bill would add to the national debt. That is likely to push up interest rates in the years to come and require the government to devote a growing portion of its budget to debt service rather than other purposes. “There is an obvious intergenerational transfer here,” said John Ricco of the Yale Budget Lab, which found that the bill would add $4,000 to the annual cost of a home mortgage in the year 2055, when today’s newborns will be 30 years old. Republican lawmakers say the bill, which passed the House of Representatives and is now pending in the Senate, would help younger Americans by putting Medicaid on a more sustainable footing and boosting economic growth and entrepreneurship, which would help younger people entering the workforce. The bill also follows through on Trump’s campaign promises by carving out new tax breaks for tipped income and overtime pay, which Republicans say could help younger workers in service and hourly wage jobs. Savings accounts The bill also would set up $1,000 savings accounts for newborns and expand a child tax break, though the details differ between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Number two House Republican Representative Steve Scalise said after the bill’s passage in May that the legislation would increase take-home pay for a median income household with two children by $4,000 to $5,000. That calculation, however, does not factor in the increased costs many lower- and middle-income families would have to pay for health care, student loans, and groceries due to the bill’s cutbacks in those areas. The Congressional Budget Office and other outside analysts have found that those costs would outweigh any savings those households might gain from tax cuts, while the child tax credit and other targeted tax breaks also would not be fully available to low-income families. That pattern holds true for poor Americans of all ages. The bill includes a targeted tax break for people over 65 promised by Trump during last year’s election, but many do not pay enough income tax to qualify for it, said Brendan Duke of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “The tax cuts basically do nothing for the lower-income half of seniors,” he said. Still, those seniors benefit from another Trump campaign promise, as the bill spares Medicare, the health plan for seniors, and Social Security, the U.S. pension program, from the sort of cost-cutting it applies to Medicaid. Medicare and Social Security are growing rapidly as the population ages, crowding out other government spending, and are projected to run short of funds in 2033. But Trump and his Democratic rivals have both vowed to shield the two politically popular programs from restructuring, which will leave future generations to confront the problem. “I think ultimately Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been engaged in intergenerational theft for a long time,” Riedl said. Andy Sullivan, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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