KFC HQ Moving to Texas

Yum! Brands announced plans to move its KFC unit to Plano, Texas, where its Pizza Hut Global operations are already based. The idea, the company said, is to designate two brand headquarters in the U.S. – one in Plano and the other Irvine, Calif., home of its Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill units — in order “to foster greater collaboration among brands and employees.”

Yum! Brands and the KFC Foundation will maintain corporate offices in Louisville. In addition, U.S.-based remote employees will be asked to relocate to the campus where their work happens.

“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.”

Yum! said the relocation will involve about 100 KFC U.S. corporate roles over the next six months, while the relocation of 90 remote positions will take place over the next 18 months.

However, in its coverage of the news, the Louisville-based Courier Journal newspaper said the relocations will affect at least 340 workers in total, with that number likely being even higher as not all job impacts were made public.

The news release on the relocation said KFC will continue its brand presence in Louisville, including “the ambition of building a first-of-its-kind flagship restaurant” there.

KFC can trace its origins to 1930, when Harlan Sanders opened a restaurant in Corbin, Ky. That business subsequently evolved into Kentucky Fried Chicken and wound up based in Louisville.