[TigersEye]

Wendy’s Franchisee Owner Blames ‘Obamacare’ For Cutting Back Employees’ Hours January 9, 2013

I'm shocked. Are you shocked?

[Vince Ferrer]

Wendy’s Franchisee Owner Blames ‘Obamacare’ For Cutting Back Employees’ Hours January 9, 2013

I'm shocked. Are you shocked?

No, and that is how I am reading this as well. Quite a few things Obama has done has increased the costs of small businesses, like fast food restaurants. Not every location is equally profitable, and if the government raises the bar on everyone, some will now be unprofitable, where they previously were before.

Announcing a remodeling is a good way to close the newly unprofitable stores without starting a political controversy that may be bad for PR. Expect more announcements from other chains.

[Vince Ferrer]

...and if I was able to look at the stores that are remodeled carefully, I would bet that after the remodeling, they will have installed labor saving devices which will cut down on the manual labor requirements, so that the staff can be downsized.

[Vince Ferrer]

As of December 30, 2012, the Company had approximately 44,000 employees, including approximately 2,800 salaried employees and approximately 41,200 hourly employees. We believe that our employee relations are satisfactory.

- From their 2012 annual report.