KFC Malaysia Closes 100 Outlets Allegedly Impact Of Boycotts Related To Israel

UNSPLASH/Jonathan Leppan ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Malaysia's KFC has temporarily closed its outlets in the country, citing difficult economic conditions. Local media reported that the closure was caused by a boycott of the alleged relationship with Israel.

Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, is a staunch Palestinian supporter, and some Western fast food brands in the country, such as in several other Muslim countries, have been targeted by a boycott campaign over Israeli military attacks in Gaza.

QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, which operates the KFC and Pizza Hut franchises in Malaysia, said it was temporarily closing its KFC outlets "in response to challenging economic conditions".

"QSR Brands and KFC Malaysia have taken proactive steps to temporarily close outlets as a way to manage increased business costs and focus on trade zones with high demand," he said in a statement.

It did not say how many outlets were affected, but local media reported more than 100 outlets were temporarily closed.

Employees from the affected stores were offered the opportunity to move to outlets in areas with higher customer engagement, QSR Brands said.