Around 100 corporate employees working for the restaurant chain will be required to relocate over the next six months, the company said.
Additionally, 90 workers in remote positions will be asked to move to Plano over the next 18 months, according to the statement.
Throughout the process, employees will receive “relocation and transition support,” Yum! Brands stated, without providing further details.
The decision is part of a wider plan by Yum! Brands to have two corporate headquarters for its main brands, with KFC and Pizza Hut to be headquartered in Plano, while Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill will remain in Irvine, California, the company said
“These changes position us for sustainable growth and will help us better serve our customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders,” said David Gibbs, Yum! Brands CEO.
“Ultimately, bringing more of our people together on a consistent basis will maximize our unrivaled culture and talent as a competitive advantage. I’m confident this is another important step in growing our iconic restaurant brands globally,” he continued.
Yum said it also hoped the relocation plan would boost collaboration among its brands and employees.
While the restaurant chain—formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken—is moving its corporate headquarters out of the state, it isn’t leaving Kentucky entirely.
According to the statement, Yum! Brands will still maintain corporate offices and the KFC Foundation in Louisville. In addition, KFC plans to continue its brand presence in Louisville by building a new “first-of-its-kind flagship restaurant” in its ancestral hometown.
Kentucky Governor ‘Disappointed’
The announcement makes KFC the latest in a long line of companies that have relocated to Texas in recent years, including Charles Schwab, Chevron, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Tesla, and the social media platform X.The moves have been driven partly by the state’s lower taxes and business-friendly policies, as well as the generally lower cost of living in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report also notes that relocating an HQ from Silicon Valley to Austin typically saves 15 percent to 20 percent in tech employee wages.
KFC’s relocation of its HQ was not welcomed by everyone, however.
Beshear, a Democrat, added that he hopes Yum! Brands reconsiders moving KFC employees out of Kentucky.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg also expressed disappointment with KFC’s corporate reshuffling of workers to Texas, highlighting that the brand “was born here and is synonymous with Kentucky.”
Both the governor and mayor said they were grateful, however, that jobs would be retained in Kentucky’s largest city via the KFC Foundation and Yum corporate offices.
“I will work tirelessly with Yum’s leadership to continue growing its presence in Louisville,” Greenberg said.
The Epoch Times has contacted Yum Brands for further comment.
