By BRUCE SCHREINER
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Fried Chicken is being uprooted from its ancestral home state in a shake up that will relocate its U.S. corporate office to Texas, the chain’s parent company said Tuesday.
The KFC chain — launched by Colonel Harland Sanders and his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices — will be based in Plano, Texas, and about 100 KFC corporate employees will be relocated in the next six months, said Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
Moving the corporate office from Louisville brought a swift response from the city’s mayor.
“I am disappointed to learn that Yum Brands will move its KFC employees to Texas – especially since the brand was born here and is synonymous with Kentucky,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a statement.
Yum said the move is part of its broader plans to designate two brand headquarters in the U.S. — in Plano and Irvine, California. KFC and Pizza Hut will be headquartered in Plano, while Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill will remain based in Irvine, it said. Yum added that 90 U.S.-based employees who have worked remotely will be asked to eventually relocate to the Plano or Irvine campuses, depending on their work.
Yum and the KFC Foundation will maintain corporate offices in Louisville, the company said.
“I’ve asked to meet with the Yum CEO soon and am heartened Yum will retain its corporate headquarters and 560 employees here,” Greenberg said. “I will work tirelessly with Yum’s leadership to continue growing its presence in Louisville.”
Employees being shifted will receive relocation and transition support, the company said.
Yum said that designating two brand headquarters is meant to foster greater collaboration among its brands and employees.
“These changes position us for sustainable growth and will help us better serve our customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders,” Yum CEO David Gibbs said in a news release.
Yum also announced it will provide a $1 million endowment to the University of Louisville’s College of Business to fund Yum-sponsored scholarships. And the company said KFC will continue its brand presence in Louisville with the goal of building a first-of-its-kind flagship restaurant.
KFC’s ties to Kentucky run nearly a century deep. In 1930, at a service station in Corbin, Kentucky, Sanders began feeding travellers and spent the next nine years perfecting his blend of herbs and spices, as well as the basic cooking technique, KFC’s website says. There are now over 24,000 KFC outlets in more than 145 countries and territories around the world, it said. And the goateed entrepreneur’s likeness is known globally, having been stamped on KFC restaurant signs and chicken buckets.
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