The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Cyclical
Darden (DRI)
Restaurants with a stated hourly count. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-05-31, filed 2026-07-24. Ranked 38 of the 39 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing states the total and the hourly count in a restaurant company, so the whole workforce is read into the restaurants pattern on a stated count.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 10% now, 13% at the end of 2027, 13% at the end of 2028, 13% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 13% desk work, 22% people work and 65% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 87% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 9% becomes checking a model's work and 4% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
209,931 employees as of 2026-05-31 (stated). The filing does not state a count by country.
The filing: “Total team members (hourly and salaried) 209,931; total number of hourly team members 198,111.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 100% | By (a): the filing's table states 209,931 team members, 198,111 of them hourly, in a company of restaurant brands, so the whole workforce is read into the restaurants pattern; the restaurant support center is named without a count and folds in under rule 5. |
What the filing says about the workforce: 209,931 team members, 198,111 of them hourly; the filing reports workforce statistics by gender and tenure and scholarships for team members' children.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Restaurants and Other Eating Places, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Starbucks (SBUX, 381,000 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC, 290,000 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
- McDonald's Corporation (MCD, 150,000 employees)10% now, 13% by 2028
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG, 130,301 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
- Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (TXRH, 101,000 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
- Brinker International, Inc. (EAT, 85,003 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL, 74,500 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
- Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (BLMN, 64,000 employees)11% now, 14% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
2 sentences in the filing name AI. AI appears twice, in the enterprise risk discussion overseen by the Audit Committee; the human capital section does not mention it.
- “In addition, the rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may increase our, our service providers', and key suppliers' cybersecurity risks.”
- “The Audit Committee, comprised solely of independent directors, oversees our overall ERM program and assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibility with respect to information technology, 26 cybersecurity, data, artificial intelligence, and other technology-related risks, all of which are fully integrated into our larger ERM program.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-31 | 209,931 | 2026-07-24 | 10-K |
| 2025-05-25 | 197,924 | 2025-07-18 | 10-K |
| 2024-05-26 | 191,105 | 2024-07-19 | 10-K |
| 2023-05-28 | 187,384 | 2023-07-21 | 10-K |
| 2022-05-29 | 178,956 | 2022-07-22 | 10-K |
| 2021-05-30 | 156,883 | 2021-07-23 | 10-K |
| 2020-05-31 | 177,000 | 2020-07-24 | 10-K |
| 2019-05-26 | 185,000 | 2019-07-19 | 10-K |
| 2018-05-27 | 180,000 | 2018-07-20 | 10-K |
| 2017-05-28 | 175,000 | 2017-07-21 | 10-K |
| 2016-05-29 | 150,000 | 2016-07-25 | 10-K |
| 2015-05-31 | 150,000 | 2015-07-24 | 10-K |
| 2014-05-25 | 206,000 | 2014-07-18 | 10-K |
| 2013-05-26 | 206,000 | 2013-07-19 | 10-K |
| 2012-05-27 | 180,000 | 2012-07-20 | 10-K |
| 2011-05-29 | 178,500 | 2011-07-22 | 10-K |
| 2010-05-30 | 174,000 | 2010-07-23 | 10-K |
| 2009-05-31 | 179,000 | 2009-07-24 | 10-K |
| 2008-05-25 | 179,000 | 2008-07-17 | 10-K |
| 2007-05-27 | 157,000 | 2007-07-19 | 10-K |
| 2006-05-28 | 157,300 | 2006-07-28 | 10-K |
| 2005-05-29 | 150,100 | 2005-07-29 | 10-K |
| 2004-05-30 | 141,300 | 2004-08-12 | 10-K |
| 2003-05-25 | 140,700 | 2003-08-22 | 10-K |
| 2002-05-26 | 133,200 | 2002-08-19 | 10-K |
| 2001-05-27 | 65 | 2001-08-16 | 10-K |
| 2000-05-28 | 65 | 2000-08-21 | 10-K405 |
| 1999-05-30 | 65 | 1999-08-23 | 10-K |
| 1998-05-31 | 65 | 1998-08-20 | 10-K405 |
| 1997-05-25 | 65 | 1997-08-15 | 10-K405 |
| 1996-05-26 | 65 | 1996-08-16 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The restaurant support center has no stated count, so the single pattern carries the whole workforce.
- The share in the U.S. is not stated.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000940944-26-000025, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Darden's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 10% now and 13% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Darden's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Darden employ?
- 209,931 as of May 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending May 31, 2026 states.
- What kinds of work make up Darden's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 1 industry staffing pattern, the largest Restaurants and Other Eating Places; by those patterns the work is about 13% desk work, 22% people work and 65% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Darden's annual report say about AI?
- 2 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.