HOLD Over 40 Delhi McDonald's outlets suspend operations on expiry of licence

Over 40 McDonald's restaurants in the national capital will remain shut from Thursday because of expiry of licences, a company official said.

"It's correct around 40 restaurants have temporarily suspended operations in the city of Delhi from today morning," Vikram Bakshi, Director of Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL) told IANS.

CPRL is a 50:50 joint venture between Bakshi and McDonald's. The company manages 55 such restaurants.

Asked how many employees will get impacted due to this decision, he said: "As this is a temporary shut down, all our employees working in these restaurants shall be retained." He said the decision had been taken by the board of CPRL. Around 1,700 employees are said to have been affected.

"The Eating House Licenses of a number of McDonald's restaurants in Delhi have expired. The Board of Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited (McDonald's licensee in North and East India) is working to obtain the required licenses. Pending this, CPRL is temporarily suspending the operations of the affected restaurants," McDonald's India Pvt Ltd said in a statement.

Apologising for the inconvenience caused due to the closure, the company said its greatest concern "is always for our customers and employees, and we are committed to doing what it takes to ensure compliance."

"It's our understanding that CPRL has notified the key affected stakeholders including employees, landlords and suppliers before the temporary suspension started on June 28. India continues to be an important market for McDonald's and we are committed to working with CPRL to resolve the issue as soon as possible," the statement added.

Bakshi was ousted from CPRL as its managing director in 2013 and is involved in litigation with McDonald's.

Some McDonald outlets that IANS visited were shut down. However, the one in Connaught Place N block was doing business as usual with the employees expressing unawareness about why other outlets had been shut.

--IANS

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