The American fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has been forced to shut down over 100 of its Malaysian outlets in response to a month’s long sweeping boycott campaign stemming from US support for Israel’s war on the Gaza enclave.
Reuters reported that QSR Brands, which owns the fast-food franchise, KFC, had to temporarily shut 108 of its 600 outlets across Malaysia, most of them in the Muslim-majority Kelantan state.
QSR Brands and KFC Malaysia said in a statement that their measures were taken as a means to manage increasing business costs and focus on high-engagement trade zones.
QSR Brands, in addition, cited “challenging economic conditions” for the closures and that employees had been offered the opportunity to relocate to busier stores.”
In April, McDonald’s bought out all the franchise restaurants in ‘Israel’ after witnessing a drop in its the sales, sparking outrage over its donation of thousands of meals to the Israeli military.
In December, Starbucks CEO reported record losses after the coffee chain sued the Starbucks Workers United union in October over a pro-Palestine social media post.
Malaysian franchisee Berjaya Food reported a 38.2% slump in sales in the fourth quarter of 2023, citing the “ongoing boycott”.
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