McDonald's settles lawsuit with former CEO over alleged lies about business

McDonald's Corp said on Thursday it had reached a settlement with former chief executive Steve Easterbrook, settling a lawsuit in which the burger chain alleged he covered up his sexual relationships with employees and lied.

McDonald's said in a statement that as part of the settlement, Easterbrook returned equity compensation and more than $105 million in cash he received as a severance package in 2019.

McDonald's sued Easterbrook in August 2020, nine months after entering into a severance agreement, claiming he never gave directors a full picture of his relationship with employees.

At the time of Easterbrook's dismissal, the company said it was only aware of one non-physical mutual relationship with the employee, but anonymous information following his dismissal led to the discovery of dozens of sexually explicit photos of women, including three employees, which Easterbrook had sent to his personal email address from his corporate account.

In his response to the lawsuit, Easterbrook argued that McDonald's had information about his relationship on its computer systems when it negotiated his severance package.

"Today's resolution avoids a protracted lawsuit and takes us beyond the chapter that belongs to our past," McDonald's chairman Enrique Hernandez Jr. said in a message to employees seen by Reuters.

McDonald's said it would retract its actions against Easterbrook with prejudice.

"During my tenure as CEO, I have at times failed to uphold McDonald's values and fulfil some of my responsibilities as a company executive. I apologise to my former colleagues, the Board of Directors and the company's franchisees and suppliers for this. ", Easterbrook said in a statement in the same news release provided by McDonald's.

McDonald's shares, according to Exness Login Thai, were trading at 265.55 on Friday.

In April, McDonald's said it would need new training at its restaurants to combat harassment and discrimination after it was hit with lawsuits accusing it of widespread sexual harassment of female employees at corporate outlets.