LOUISVILLE Ky. Yum! Brands Inc. is reportedly planning to eliminate several hundred corporate jobs and restructure its flagging U.S. business as a result of an ambitious refranchising program.
Positions will be eliminated here at the headquarters of the corporation and its KFC brand, as well as the Irvine, Calif., base of Taco Bell and the Dallas home office of Pizza Hut, according to an Associated Press report. Yum is also the operator-franchisor of Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Food.
Initially, positions will be eliminated by not replacing employees who leave, spokesman Jonathan Blum told the AP.
Yum posted a 16-percent drop in U.S. operating profit for the third quarter ended Sept. 6, with KFC leading the decline. The company said it plans to reduce the percentage of company units within the KFC system to 10 percent by selling corporate stores to franchisees. At present, 20 percent of the chain is company-owned.
Yum also plans to cut its ownership of Pizza Hut units to 10 percent of the system, from the current 20 percent, but has indicated that it plans to continue owning and operating 20 percent of the Taco Bell chain.
Yum's overseas restaurant profits have been much higher than those in the United States, especially in emerging markets such as China. Yum operates or franchises about 35,000 fast-food restaurants worldwide.
