03.02.2025 11:31
Things are not going well for İş Gıda, which terminated its franchise agreement with KFC and Pizza Hut, brands owned by Yum! Brands, which has dozens of branches in Turkey. With a debt of 7.7 billion TL, the company has filed for concordat, and a call has been made to the sector to provide employment for 7,000 people who will be left unemployed due to the company's application.
The echoes of İş Holding and its subsidiaries' application for concordat continue with various dimensions. The group's subsidiary, İş Gıda, was shaken by the termination of the franchise agreement covering Yum! Brands' KFC and Pizza Hut brands before the concordat.
According to Necla Dalan from Patronlar Dünyası, following the request for concordat, calls for support have begun for 7,000 employees working at KFC and Pizza Hut in the food and beverage sector. Ahmet Yılmaz, who provides consultancy services and works with large groups in the sector, became the name that ignited the fuse. Yılmaz tagged many names from McDonald's to Burger King, from Komegene to Tavuk Dünyası, from Maydonoz Döner to Nusret, and called on Mustafa Aydın, the President of the National Franchise Association (UFRAD), and board members.
"15,000 PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE ALONG WITH THEIR FAMILIES"
Yılmaz emphasized that the salaries of employees working at these brands in the sector are not being paid on time, and due to non-payments to chicken companies, some branches have no products. He pointed out that İş Gıda's concordat decision has left 15,000 people, along with their families, desperate.
"THEY TRUSTED THE BRAND AND GOT A JOB, BUT..."
Yılmaz stated, "There are hundreds, thousands of people who are newly married, have rented homes, have installments, are raising children, have new babies, or have sick family members. Most of them got jobs trusting the brand. The actual owner of the brand transferred all rights to the staff to İş Gıda in the past. Now they have no rights. In fact, this situation is also bad for all franchise brands in Turkey. Give the friends working here the opportunity to work," he said.
2 COMPANIES RESPONDED TO THE CALL
The first response from the brands to Yılmaz's call, which received thank-you messages from restaurant employees, came from Ömer Şeyhin, the Chairman of the Board of Maydonoz Döner and My Fried Chicken. Şeyhin responded to Yılmaz's post and stated that they offer job opportunities based on the merit and potential of those who come to them from these brands.
İŞ GIDA SAID "OPERATIONS CONTINUE"
In a statement made by İş Gıda on January 8, after Yum! Brands' termination decision, it was stated, "İş Gıda, which is the owner and operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Turkey, included the KFC brand in 2020 and the Pizza Hut brand in 2022, and within the first 3 years, increased the total number of restaurants by 300% to 537. By 2025, İş Gıda, which provides employment for approximately 7,000 people, was awarded the 'Yum! Growth Partner' award by Yum! Brands Global in 2023 due to this performance. The compliance of all our KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants with global operational standards is regularly audited by Yum! Brands approved independent auditing firms, and our operations continue uninterrupted because they meet these quality standards," it was stated.