McDonald's Japan expects wider losses for 2015 due to food scandal

The Japanese unit of McDonald's Corp forecast wider losses for 2015, announcing store closures and job cuts plan after a series of food safety scandals on Thursday, local media reported.

Sales of McDonald's Japan was down 29.3 percent in March, marking the 14th consecutive monthly decline following the food scandals, after falling 28.7 percent in February and 38.6 percent in January.

Thus, the global fast-food chain unit in Japan said it would probably lose 38 billion yen (about 318 million U.S. dollars) in 2015, compared with 21.8 billion loss in the previous year.

It will also close 131 restaurants nationwide by the end of this year, while cutting the monthly salary for its executive for six months, said Japan's Kyodo News Agency.

The company has been involved in a series of food contamination cases, including a human tooth found inside a pack of French fries in Osaka, and an incident in Fukushima prefecture, where a child was hurt by a piece of hard plastic in a chocolate sundae. It was also hit hard by reports last year that accused supplier Shanghai Husi Food Co. of selling expired meat to restaurant companies.

However, McDonald's Japan also unveiled its business recovery plan on Thursday, including entailing the introduction of new menu items, modernization of its restaurants, and streamlining of costs.

Its president, Sarah Casanova said at a press conference: "We will continue to do everything we can to continue to enhance our food safety and food quality systems and regain the confidence of our customers." Endi