By WMBD TV

BLOOMINGTON – EYM Chicken Operations and its parent company, Yum, shut down multiple Illinois KFC fast-food locations earlier this week, implementing mass layoffs of its employees statewide.

According to a former maintenance employee who worked at several central Illinois KFC restaurants, his director of operations called him on Aug. 6 to notify him of his termination. The employee said he was vacationing in Tennessee when he received the call.

He requested a formal notification via email from his director and received an email that outlined the circumstances surrounding the sudden departure shortly after.

He said the company eliminated his position effective immediately and he felt “treated as though he did something wrong.”

On Monday, five KFC fast-food locations in Illinois, including those where the maintenance employee worked, abruptly closed Monday morning, according to former restaurant employees. That include the KFC in Bloomington on West Market Street.

Andrew Bush, 18, a former restaurant employee of about a year-and-a-half, said he received a call from his corporate KFC district manager at about 9 a.m. Monday regarding the permanent closure of the Washington, Illinois, location. The restaurant is located at 1106 Peoria Street.

WMBD-TV called the Pekin location Monday afternoon and a former employee said their restaurant is currently closed. The restaurant is located in East Court Village at 3485 Court Street. Crews with WMBD-TV visited a Peoria location at 8905 North Allen Road, where they confirmed that the restaurant location is also closed.

A KFC restaurant in Bartonville has also closed until further notice.

In Rockford, three locations were closed, including the following:

• 1502 Kilburn Avenue, Rockford, Illinois.
• 3035 11th Street, Rockford, Illinois.
• 1586 West Lane Road, Machesney Park.

In the Champaign, two locations were shut down. In the Champaign and Decatur areas, about four locations have also closed this week, including those in Mattoon and Clinton.

Parent-company, Yum, provided the following statement regarding the sudden closures:

“We can confirm that some KFC locations in the area have closed. The decision to close a restaurant is always difficult for both the franchisee and the brand. We appreciate the patronage of our loyal guests.”

Several Illinois KFC locations are currently owned by EYM Chicken Operations, which owns other locations in Wisconsin and Indiana.

There are nearly 150 KFC locations in Illinois.

WMBD can be reached at [email protected].