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KFC stood for Kentucky Fried Chicken until 1991 when the company shortened its name to simply KFC. Now the fast food franchise is moving further away from its Kentucky roots and relocating its headquarters out of its home state.
Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell, Habit Burger & Grill, and Pizza Hut, announced on Tuesday that it was moving KFC’s headquarters out of Louisville, Kentucky, and designating two new locations as its U.S. headquarters: Plano, Texas, and Irvine, California. KFC’s U.S. corporate employees will move from Louisville to Plano, where they will work in a joint headquarters with Pizza Hut.
Meanwhile, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill employees will continue to have a separate joint headquarters in Irvine, California.
Related: KFC Is Launching a Chicken Tenders-Focused Concept Called Saucy — Here’s When and Where It Opens
About 100 in-person KFC corporate employees will relocate to Plano within six months. Meanwhile, 90 remote employees will also have to move to Plano, but they have a longer time to relocate (18 months) before working from the office.
Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs stated that he was “confident” the changes would be “another important step” in growing the company.
“Ultimately, bringing more of our people together on a consistent basis will maximize our unrivaled culture and talent as a competitive advantage,” Gibbs stated in a press release.
Yum! Brands has been headquartered in Louisville since 1997, making the switch to two headquarters in Plano and Irvine a significant one in the company’s history.
The company is still investing in Louisville. On Tuesday, it committed to providing a $1 million endowment to the University of Louisville College of Business.
Yum! Brands reported its fourth quarter 2024 and full-year 2024 earnings earlier this month, noting that KFC opened 2,892 new restaurants across 97 countries. KFC’s top markets were China, the U.S., and Europe. It has 30,000 locations worldwide, according to the company.
The earnings beat Wall Street estimates, with revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter compared to the $2.35 billion expected. High sales in KFC and Taco Bell fueled the strong results.
Related: 10 Surprising Ways KFC’s Innovation and Marketing Have Propelled the Brand to Worldwide Success
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