Rich Exit: McDonald’s Kicked Out CEO Steve Easterbrook. Here’s How Much He is Taking Home

No matter how valuable you are to a company, how much help you’ve rendered, how many years you’ve spent in making sure it meets success, you have no assurance that you won’t get kicked out, even if you’re one of the highest-ranking employees. As long as you violate a policy, a strict brand won’t tolerate your acts, even if you brought in money throughout your tenure.

McDonald’s doesn’t allow a manager and a subordinate to date

So when it was announced that Steve Easterbrook was fired, everyone was shocked. The former McDonald’s CEO himself was forced out of the company that he greatly helped after dating another employee consensually, which violated the giant fast-food chain’s rules. As per the official statement, the entrepreneur showcased poor judgment when he entered a relationship with a co-worker.

Take-Home Pay

Meanwhile, Steve is not going home emptyhanded. Experts are estimating he could receive at least $70 million out of stocks and this could balloon to as much as $85 million if McDonald’s could reach its target in the next few years. Of course, this would just be a significant addition to his massive earnings in the past years, including the $16 million shares for his tenure and $20 million bonus and paycheck.

Steve is also entitled to severance pay, rumored to be about $700,000, because his termination was stated to be without cause. If he was fired with cause, then he wouldn’t get any cash severance. The company filing also said that he is banned from joining a competitor company in the next two years.

As for the relationship, the company and Steve didn’t give any details. In an e-mail to the staff, the British explained that being axed from McDonald’s was wrong, although he agreed with the decision of the board for him to move forward. He had been the CEO for four years already and before that, he was already working in Europe as chief brand officer.

New CEO

The new executive is Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s USA president, who worked with Steve in bringing the company’s figures up. The newly installed CEO expressed joy and excitement about this new chapter of bigger responsibilities granted him by the board.

The new McDonald’s CEO is Chris Kempczinski

The disgraced official, however, was a major player in boosting shares by 96 percent ($193.94) since 2015. Steve’s management was also in charge of selling most (90 percent) of McDonald’s stores to franchisees, which aided in bringing in the profits. However, it also caused a decline in revenues because of the differences in accounting.

Renovations and Innovations

Steve and Chris’ teamwork gave birth to innovations and renovations in its stores, like new menu boards and self-order booths. These tech additions would usually gain traction and caused consumers to spend, but franchisees across states were hesitant of these upgrades primarily because these were pricey. As a result, they formed an independent group in 2018.

Digital menu boards were installed under Chris and Steve’s management

To be fair, Steve has no wife because he was divorced. However, the dynamics of the relationship poses a problem – what if the subordinate feels compelled to be in a relationship with a higher-up just to keep the job? The former CEO’s exit came at a time when there are widespread reports of workplace harassment.