Kentucky is losing a piece of its identity as Kentucky Fried Chicken, known these days as just KFC, decamps to Texas nearly a century after its birth.
Parent company Yum! Brands announced the move Tuesday, telling investors that the corporate headquarters will be folded in with fellow brand Pizza Hut Global in Plano, a suburb of Dallas. The move consolidates the company’s fast-food admin into two global headquarters, with the other one in Irvine, Calif., housing Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said they hoped Yum! Brands would reconsider, since 30,000 restaurants worldwide proudly bear their state’s name and the image of the franchise’s founder, Harland “Colonel” Sanders.
“I am disappointed by this decision and believe the company’s founder would be, too,” Beshear said in a statement issued even as he continued updating his constituents in the aftermath of last weekend’s devastating storms. “This company’s name starts with Kentucky, and it has marketed our state’s heritage and culture in the sale of its product.”
Yum! Brands and the KFC Foundation won’t be completely gone, however. There will still be corporate offices in Louisville, where the franchise has been based since 1997, and there are plans to build up a flagship restaurant.
Greenberg expressed relief amid his own disappointment.
“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,” he said in a statement to the Louisville Courier-Journal. “I’ve asked to meet with the Yum! CEO soon and am heartened Yum! will retain its corporate headquarters and 560 employees here. I will work tirelessly with Yum’s leadership to continue growing its presence in Louisville.”
The move will also take 100 employees to Plano, about 800 miles away, within the next six months, Yum! Brands said. Around 90 more who are now remote will be “asked to relocate to the campus where their work happens” over the next 18 months. All will receive relocation assistance.
Yum! Brands is one of several companies that have relocated to Texas of late, where corporate taxes are lower, as CNN noted.
With News Wire Services
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