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KFC is leaving Kentucky — but don’t worry, it’s not changing its name.
Yum! Brands (YUM+1.71%), which owns the famed fried chicken chain, said Tuesday that it is creating two new corporate headquarters, one in Plano, Texas, and another in Irvine, California.
“This strategic decision will involve relocating KFC U.S. corporate office employees currently in Louisville, Kentucky, to the KFC and Pizza Hut Global headquarters in Plano, Texas,” it said in a release. Yum! also said remote workers will be asked to come into the office where their team is headquartered. Yum! and the KFC Foundation will continue to have corporate offices in Louisville, but the company won’t be headquartered there anymore.
The moves will send 100 KFC U.S. corporate employees packing for Texas over the next six months. It also means that 90 people in remote jobs will have to move to Texas in the next 18 months.
“These changes position us for sustainable growth and will help us better serve our customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders,” David Gibbs, Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer said in a statement. “Ultimately, bringing more of our people together on a consistent basis will maximize our unrivaled culture and talent as a competitive advantage.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg told the Cincinnati Enquirer he was upset by the move, which he feels betrays the brand’s history.
“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,” Greenberg said.
Yum! seemed to anticipate there would be local rancor, and also announced it was giving a $1 million endowment to the College of Business at the University of Louisville “to fund Yum!-sponsored scholarships for students throughout Kentucky and further support the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence.”