Official government statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistic show turnover rates for the 2015 to 2017 period at close to 82 percent, but industry experts say that figure should be much much higher — they are looking at a possible turnover rate of 150 percent — and that the problem isn't going away anytime soon.

Part of the problem lies with the fast-food industry's hiring and training model. In order to keep hiring costs down, fast-food jobs are standard and routine, and no special skill is needed to do the work. "If you lose someone, it is not a real cost, because they are so easily replaceable," Rosemary Batt, chair of HR Studies at the Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations says. "The industry has thrived on this HR model of turnover-proof jobs for many years, because they could get away with it."

"Now turnover is absolutely excessive, and some chains are beginning to put numbers on the cost of turnover," Batt says. "I know some chains that are focused on it. Because turnover is getting so serious and because chains have the ability to do the HR analytics, they can begin to cost out turnover and say, 'This is not a cost we have taken seriously, because historically we were counting on high turnover model as acceptable.'"