The KFC franchise in Kenya is not laying off workers.
This letter shared on X (formerly Twitter) purportedly by Kentucky Fried Chicken(KFC) announcing layoffs due to the GEN-Z demonstrations is fabricated.
The headline on the letter, which is dated 20th July 2024, reads: “Announcement of layoff due to the ongoing Gen Z demonstrations in Nairobi, Kenya.”
The letter further reads, “As you are aware the ongoing protests in the city and other parts of the country have significantly impacted our ability to conduct business. Despite our best efforts to navigate these challenges, the situation has resulted in considerable disruption to our daily operations and has caused substantial financial strain on the company.”
The letter, which was purportedly issued by the human resources director of the global fast food franchise, accompanies a post that claims that the protests have caused an economic shutdown.
Notably, business entities have experienced losses since the demonstrations began on 18th June 2024 with the weekly demos being slotted for Tuesdays and Thursdays but does the said letter reflect the intentions of the franchise?
VERIFICATION
KFC has 25,000 locations in over 145 countries with Kenya having over 25 outlets all across the country. A quick look at the letter address alleges it was issued by KFC’s head office in Texas USA instead of Kenya where the purported layoff is to take place.
The Lake Region Bulletin also contacted KFC Kenya via the customer care email about the layoff letter. The franchise confirmed that they are aware of the letter doing rounds and that the said letter is fake. They also noted that the alleged employee layoffs have not been taken by the Kenyan franchise.
CustomerCareKFC <customercarekfc@kfeah.com> | Mon, Jul 22, 7:12 PM | ||
to me, customercarekfc@kfk.co.ke | |||
Hi Winnie,
We are aware of the post relating to employee layoffs circulating on social media. We can confirm that this letter is indeed fake and that the alleged employee actions are not being taken by our Franchise Partner in Kenya.
Please direct any media queries to kfc@kamuses.co.za.
Regards.
KFC also took to X to issue an official statement on the matter. In the post, the franchise acknowledged that they were aware of the fake letter doing rounds on social media and clarified that it was not undertaking any layoffs.
“We are aware of the letter circulating on social media, we can confirm that the letter is indeed fake and that the alleged actions are not being taken by our Franchise partner in Kenya.”
Screenshot of KFC’s official statement
VERDICT
After verification, Lake Region Bulletin established that the letter does not represent the views of the franchise therefore the letter circulating on social media is FAKE.
This fact-check was produced by Lake Region Bulletin, under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).
