Burger King plans to close four locations across the US and Canada by the end of the year, including Austin, Texas, San Francisco and New York.
The company’s new menu will replace hamburgers with “sandwicakes” which will include burgers, salads and sandwiches, and will offer more choices than the standard Burger King burger, which is made with ground beef, lettuce, tomato, tomato sauce, cheese and mayonnaise.
“We’ve listened to our customers and we’re excited to bring the burger experience to Austin, San Diego, and Dallas,” said Burger King chief executive officer David Reimer.
The burger and sandwich menu will also be made with chicken, turkey and other ingredients.
Burger King, which has about 40 restaurants in the US, Canada and Australia, has been battling low sales and increasing competition from chains such as Chipotle and Subway.
Burger Kings US restaurant locations will be the only locations to be replaced by the new menu, which will be made available to Burger King customers in Austin, Austin, Los Angeles, Houston, San Marcos, San Juan Capistrano and San Antonio.
The announcement comes as Burger King announced plans to cut 2,700 jobs across the company, which also plans to reduce costs by about $6 billion in fiscal year 2018.
Burger King announced it would close its Austin, Tex., store, the last remaining one in the city, in March 2018.
The Austin store is part of a plan to shutter a number of other locations, including in Austin’s downtown, a number in the southern part of the city and one in San Antonio’s Southside.
Reimer said that the company would be announcing new jobs at restaurants throughout the US.
The Burger King menu will be available in more than a dozen other cities in 2018.
BurgerKing announced last month that it was eliminating 2,800 jobs, including 1,800 at its Austin and San Diego restaurants, after a year of declining sales and rising competition from Chipotle.
BurgerKing is one of several fast-food chains facing increasing pressure from the rising cost of goods.
Burger king has been criticized for its low wages and low benefits, including $3.50 an hour minimum wage for tipped employees, and a $1.95 minimum for tipped waiters.
Reimer, who will step down as Burger Kings chief executive in 2018, said the company will look to bring back its popular burger chain with the new burger menu.
“I’m excited to be able to work with Burger King again and deliver a menu that has a more focused focus on providing our customers with great food and great service,” he said.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Austin; editing by Leslie Adler)
