UrBC, Yekaterinburg, September 15, 2016. The international fast food chain McDonald’s reports it will have to lay off 729 employees in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Region Labor & Employment Department’s press secretary Olga Ruleva informed UrBC.

‘A McDonald’s representative said 729 people would be let go on October 31. It is not clear as of yet just which and how many of Yekaterinburg-based restaurants will close down,’ she said.

According to Ruleva, a new employer called Regional Catering Network is willing to take on most of McDonald’s former workers provided they want this new job.

Now it was announced earlier that McDonald’s is selling its franchise in Ural Federal District. Under the terms of an agreement between Moscow-McDonald’s and Regional Catering Network, the latter will be allowed to operate under the brand’s name in Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, and Tyumen Regions.