McDonald’s ‘knew about my office flings’
THE British chief executive fired by McDonald’s over an office fling has accused the burger giant of knowing about his workplace romances.
Lawyers for Watford-born Steve Easterbrook say the fast food multinational pretended to have “new” information about his dalliances to claw back part of his pay-off.
The 53-year-old was given a £30million severance package after being sacked last year following an affair with a junior female colleague.
Legal papers say he is now linked to images of three other employees among “dozens of nude, partially nude or sexually explicit photographs and videos of various women”.
But his lawyer Daniel Herr claimed the company’s legal team had access to the material all along but have produced it only now to avoid paying the agreed package.
He wrote in his legal response to the accusation: “McDonald’s is improperly attempting to get out of its bargain nine months after the fact and despite admitting it always possessed the information upon which it is now relying.
“McDonald’s admits that the ‘new’ information it now relies upon is not new at all.
“Rather, since the outset of the investigation, it was in the company email account stored on the company’s servers.”
Mr Easterbrook was once dubbed the “Golden boy of the Golden Arches” after turning around a slide in fortunes and doubling the group’s share price within five years. The father of three admitted displaying “poor judgment” in the relationship, which saw his meteoric rise end in a brutal downfall.
His controversial pay-off presented him with half a year’s salary plus millions of pounds in lucrative shares.
Last week, a former lover told how he used the McDonald’s private jet to woo her then lost interest when he was promoted.
Denise Paleothodoros, 47, said they planned to move in together during their four-year relationship but drifted apart after his elevation.