Burger King axes 89 franchises over scandals

The move was effective immediately, Burger King Europe said at its Munich offices. But German franchise holder Yi-Ko said it will keep operating the outlets at least until food stocks ran out.

Then move affects 89 of the fast food chain's almost 700 German outlets, and 3,000 employees now face an uncertain future.

The "difficult but necessary decision was taken after Yi-Ko repeatedly failed to observe contractually fixed working conditions for its 3,000 restaurant staff", Burger King said.

Many of the outlets had already been temporarily closed for improvements to hygiene standards and working conditions after a damning undercover report in May by the RTL television channel.

According to the report, expired food products were relabelled as fresh ones and burgers were often kept warm for hours, rather than being freshly grilled as the chain proudly advertises.

Other sanitary violations included personnel cleaning toilets and then preparing food in the same clothes.

"After the hygiene scandal in May there were many improvements, but since the summer there were fresh breaches of existing agreements," the head of Burger King's German operations, Andreas Bork, told Bild newspaper.

Yi-Ko had withheld employees' holiday pay and bonuses and sick pay was received only with delays, he said.

Read the Full Article

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

For Starbucks, 2 years of change hasn't yielded promised results

The Bottom Line: The coffee shop giant’s sales struggles worsened earlier this year, despite a flurry of efforts to improve operations and employee satisfaction.

Food

Nando's Americanizes its menu a bit as U.S. expansion continues

Behind the Menu: Favorites like mac and cheese, bowls and salads join the fast casual’s Afro-Portuguese-rooted dishes, including the signature peri-peri chicken.

Financing

The consumer is cutting back, but not everywhere

The Bottom Line: Early earnings from major restaurant chains suggest the consumer has taken a distinct turn for the worse so far in 2024.

Trending

More from our partners