KFC to create 5,400 jobs in UK and Ireland

KFC is to create a further 5,400 jobs over the next three months as it gears up for the festive period.

The chicken chain is hiring across its 965 restaurants in the UK and Ireland and said the new roles are in addition to the 4,300 people it has recruited since March.

It intends to make use of the government-funded Kickstart Scheme, which pays firms £1,500 for every 16-24 year-old they take on and train.

Paula MacKenzie, general manager at KFC UK & Ireland, said: “There’s no denying it’s been a tough year for the hospitality sector, and we’re already seeing the substantial impact of that across our high streets and city centres.

“With new regional and national lockdowns coming into effect, it’s an uncertain time for many businesses – but due to the phenomenal support from our teams and fans, as well as the governments of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, we’re really excited to be able to welcome over 5,000 new team members ahead of Christmas.”

KFC closed all its restaurants in March but began reopening locations for takeaway, delivery and drive-through throughout April and May.

Big-name chains with strong takeaway businesses have largely avoided the hit taken by smaller dine-in restaurants throughout the pandemic.

Domino’s Pizza recently said it was creating 5,000 new jobs and over 1,000 kickstart placements after sales rose 5.5% in the first half of the year. This was in addition to 6,000 people it had hired since the pandemic began.

Mackenzie said: “The vast majority of our restaurants are run by franchisees, which are often smaller family owned businesses that have faced the unique set of challenges of this year, including the complete closure of restaurants in March – we’re proud to have been able to work together to reopen responsibly and in turn ensure the stability of our restaurants and provide new job openings into the industry at this time.”

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