KFC will invest 1.5bn PS and create over 7,000 jobs by 2030 in the UK and Ireland.
The chain of fried chicken restaurants announced that it would spend more than PS500 million to upgrade over 200 outlets and open 500 new ones. The chain has over 1,000 outlets in the British Isles. Most of them are franchises.
KFC announced that the newly created 7,000 jobs would include servers, kitchen roles, managers, and a guest experience lead position tasked with improving customer service. KFC will provide a variety of training and development opportunities for all roles to “support rapid career progression”.
Rob Swain said, “We have been serving UK customers for 60 years, but we’ve not seen such a strong demand as we are seeing today for freshly prepared fried chicken.
As the market leader with a revenue of nearly PS2bn, we are in a great position to seize this opportunity.
“We are doubling down our commitment to the UK & Ireland by investing in our restaurants and the suppliers that have been so important to our success. This will create jobs for local communities in all parts of the country.”
The investment of more than PS400million will help KFC strengthen its long-standing relationship with its suppliers, and businesses in the UK&I to continue to grow.
Swain stated that around 500,000 people apply to KFC each year and the company promotes 2,000 employees into management positions every year.
He said that KFC had found the recent increase in UK employment costs “challenging”, adding that national insurance increases and minimum wage increases were “bigger” than expected.
Kate Nicholls commented, “Hospitality has an unrivalled ability to create places that people want to work, live and invest in.” KFC’s announcement is proof that this can be done. It will drive economic growth and create jobs across the UK.
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