There’s no easy way of saying this… but the Olympus has fallen. As the spicy cough once again wreaks havoc upon supply chains, Australia’s restaurants – including the ever-sacred KFC – and supermarkets are now staring down the barrel of a chicken shortage. Talking about being kicked in the nuggets.
“Rest assured we’re doing all we can to get back to fryin’ everyone’s faves as soon as possible,” KFC expressed in an apology statement.
“This isn’t the way we wanted to start the year, please be kind to each other and our staff as they do their best to provide the chicken we all love.”
“Unfortunately our supply chain has been disrupted, and some of our restaurants will be offering a reduced menu,” adds an official KFC spokesperson (via news.com.au).
“We’re sorry for any issues this causes our customers – we’re doing everything we can to help our suppliers get back on track.”
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According to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF), the issue lies in staff shortages experienced by key businesses within the supply chain. In other words, while the term currently being used is “chicken shortage” given the end result observed in KFC, Woolies, Coles, and beyond – it’d be slightly more accurate to label this entire situation a localised labour shortage.
“There are plenty of chickens out on farms, but just not enough people to pick them up, process them and distribute chicken products to stores,” explains Vivien Kite, Executive Director at ACMF.
ABC reports most major processors are operating with a reduction of up to 50% of required personnel.
“It is a difficult time for everyone – farmers, chicken companies and all businesses in the chicken supply chain, as well as our valued customers.”
“We apologise to all our customers who have been unable to buy the products they want, and we ask for patience and understanding.”
Isolation requirements for supply chain workers were adjusted earlier this week due to the sheer number of relevant individuals isolating as we speak. But as we’ve learned all too well in the past two years, the matter at hand will obviously take some time to resolve. Expect limited options when it comes to your fast food needs and buying limits elsewhere.
Omnicron, you are a cruel bastard.
