Tensions Rise as Jack in the Box's Franchise System Call for CEO Resignation... Again

“The feud between some Jack in the Box franchisees and the San Diego-based restaurant chain heated up again this week, with the fast-food outlet operators once again calling for a change in corporate leadership,” according to an article in the San Diego Tribune.

According to the article, “roughly 90 percent” of the QSR brand’s 2,1000 stores are party to Jack in the Box’s National Franchisee Association (NFA). According to an article in QSR, “reiterating a past notion, the NFA called Wednesday for new ownership and a change in CEO following participation in recent corporate road shows.”

In response to the demand for a change in leadership, the San Diego Tribune article said, Jack in the Box corporate formed a Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) to promote “feedback between Jack in the Box’s franchise operators and the company’s management.” NFA members argued that “a Strategic Leadership Council has been in place for years to do the same thing. It was created as part of an agreement between the association and the company to resolve a prior dispute,” according to the article.

“The NFA said the FAC is Jack in the Box’s “latest attempt to minimize the organization,” and said it highlights the board of director’s lack of engagement during the conflict,” according to the article in QSR.

Jack in the Box is not the only QSR franchise to have seen the emergence of associations and councils aimed at driving change at the corporate level—last October, McDonald’s employees did the same. As volatility in the restaurant industry—and in particular, the QSR space—continues, such disputes may become increasingly common.