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KFC restaurants in Ireland 'open as usual' despite disruption to UK stores

KFC restaurants in Northern Ireland and the Republic are 'open as usual', the company said yesterday
KFC restaurants in Northern Ireland and the Republic are 'open as usual', the company said yesterday KFC restaurants in Northern Ireland and the Republic are 'open as usual', the company said yesterday

KFC restaurants in Northern Ireland and the Republic are "open as usual", the company says.

In a statement on its Twitter page, KFC confirmed its stores across Ireland were operating, despite hundreds of its restaurants remaining shut in the UK.

More than 500 KFC restaurants in the UK were still closed last night amid an ongoing shortage after the fast-food chain ran out of chicken. Many of those that were open were offering limited menus or have cut their hours.

The company said it expects disruption to some restaurants to continue for the rest of the week after a new delivery contract with DHL sparked a chicken shortage.

A KFC spokesman said: "We anticipate the number of closures will reduce today and over the coming days as our teams work flat out all hours to clear the backlog.

"Each day more deliveries are being made, however, we expect the disruption to some restaurants to continue over the remainder of the week, meaning some will be closed and others operating with a reduced menu or shortened hours."

The closures were the result of delayed chicken deliveries by DHL, which announced in November that it had been appointed alongside QSL to manage the supply and distribution of food products and packaging for more than 850 KFC restaurants throughout the UK and Ireland.

KFC said staff on short-term contacts working in restaurants owned by the chain would be paid the average hours worked per day over the past 12 weeks, while those on salaries would be paid as normal.

However, 80 per cent of KFC outlets are run on a franchise basis.

"Franchisees will be seeking their own independent advice, but we're encouraging them to adopt this policy too," said the chain.

"Due to operational issues a number of deliveries in recent days have been incomplete or delayed," DHL said in a statement.

"We are working with KFC and our partners to rectify the situation as a priority and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused."