“Through salary rises, we plan to retain our personnel, because we are working with many students who are interested in working in the fields in which they are studying. A higher wage could be a reason to stay with the company and get a promotion,” the company’s Training Manager, Alina Spiridon, said. Labor costs make up some 12-15 percent of KFC Romania’s revenues.

Other fast food chains are also raising employee wages. Staff of the McDonalds chain also enjoyed a 20 percent salary rise in the past year, according to the company’s Human Resource Manager, Irina Panaite.

Personnel turnover within KFC Romania is 30-40 percent in Bucharest, peaking at 45 percent in summer, when seasonal workers are employed. The company hires some 30-50 people every month. “We are not complaining about the personnel deficit. We have some problems when summer ends and employees quit their seasonal jobs, but students come to fill vacancies as of 1 October,” Spiridon said.

KFC Romania currently has some 1,100 employees in its 30 stores.

The company’s main competitors are McDonalds, Burger King, Springtime, and Gregory’s.