169 McDonald’s outlets to shut in North and East India

**By APD Writer rishika chauhan **

**NEW DELHI, August 22 (APD):

**American fast food chain McDonald’s terminated its agreement with an Indian firm on Monday. This move will lead to the closing of 169 restaurants in North and East India in the next 15 days.

The development could cause thousands of people losing their job. McDonald’s released a statement about the move, explaining that it would find another Indian firm to act as its new licensee partner for its outlets in the two regions.

The news comes two months after 43 of 55 McDonald’s outlets were closed in Delhi, as local authorities did not renew their licenses.

McDonald’s stressed,

“We have been compelled to take this step because our partner has materially breached the terms of the respective franchise agreements relating to the affected restaurants, and has failed to remedy the breaches, despite being provided with an opportunity to do so in accordance with the agreements.”

According to experts, the shutdown of McDonald’s outlets will adversely hit the fast food chain’s popularity in the country.

“There is expected to be a lot of confusion among consumers. This is definitely a gain for Dominos, KFC and Burger King. Having said that, this seems to be the way forward for McDonald’s. The legal battle has been going on for years, due to which the quality was suffering,”

Said Abneesh Roy, an expert in the field.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)