Berlin - The global hamburger chain Burger King said Wednesday that it has cancelled the franchises at 89 of its 700 German restaurants after negative publicity about low pay for the staff.
A TV investigative programme in May alleged staff at the outlets were forced to alter sell-by dates on food and lacked some appliances common in most German restaurants, such as dishwashers and garbage compressors.
Pay gouging with overtime and extra benefits withheld was the most serious allegation.
The franchise cancellations mean other licensees must be found to run the outlets, which dot shopping malls and highways around Germany.
Burger King Europe said at its Munich office that it had cancelled the licence to Yi-Ko Holding, the largest of its German franchisees, with immediate effect.
“This difficult but necessary decision came after Yi-Ko repeatedly failed to apply contractually agreed working conditions to its 3 000 restaurant staff,” Burger King said in a statement.
Burger King is the world's second-largest fast-food chain after McDonald's with more than 14 000 restaurants in 100 nations, according to its own data.
Almost all its restaurants are franchises, meaning a subcontractor operates the site with Burger King lending its brand name, colours and recipes. - Sapa-dpa