THE SWIFTNESS of Steve Easterbrook’s exit from McDonald’s matched that of Don Thompson, his predecessor, in 2015. Mr Thompson was pushed out for poor performance. Not Mr Easterbrook, who was widely admired for doubling the American fast-food giant’s share price. On November 3rd the company announced it was sacking its British-born boss because of “a recent consensual relationship with an employee”. Chris Kempczinski, who runs its domestic business, takes over.
Bill George of Harvard Business School called Mr Easterbrook’s departure a “tragedy” for McDonald’s. In Europe ousting a capable CEO drew bemusement. Süddeutsche Zeitung, a German daily, commented that, “luckily”, German labour law would bar such a move. In 2005 a court in Düsseldorf ruled that the German subsidiary of Walmart, an American retailer, could not ban its employees from flirting. Critics of restrictions on workplace romance warn that they can backfire. To them, Walmart’s hotline for anonymous tips on office indiscretions is a recipe for backbiting.
In America Mr Easterbrook’s sacking was, pace Mr George, broadly applauded. #MeToo has highlighted the perils of romantic workplace liaisons between people with unequal power. The powerful “find it hard to recognise the coercive nature of their influence”...
