McDonald's paid its CEO almost 2,000 times as much as the average worker in 2019, with executive compensation topping $18 million

• McDonald's CEO compensation in 2019 was 1,939 times what the median worker at the fast-food giant made in the same year.
• Total CEO compensation topped $18 million, according to a company filing that prorated how much former CEO Steve Easterbrook - who was ousted from the company due to a relationship between the CEO and a coworker - and current CEO Chris Kempczinski earned in 2019.
• McDonald's has faced backlash on worker pay in recent years, with employees striking with the Fight for 15 movement on Thursday.
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McDonald's chief executive compensation in 2019 was almost 2,000 times what the average worker at the fast-food chain earned in the year.

According to a McDonald's proxy statement released on Thursday, the CEO's total compensation in 2019 was $18,012,549. According to the company's calculations, that was 1,939 times what the median worker made in the same year.

McDonald's identified its median employee by annualizing a month of total gross wages for all employees around the world, including all full-time, part-time, and temporary workers. In 2019, the chain found that the median employee by pay was a part-time crew employee who earned $9,291 from McDonald's.

In November, Steve Easterbrook abruptly departed as McDonald's CEO after an internal investigation into his romantic relationship with a coworker. Easterbrook was replaced by Chris Kempczinski, the current CEO.

The company prorated the two CEO's salaries, annual bonuses, and all other compensation to reflect each man's time served as chief executive. The vast majority of McDonald's CEO's compensation is in bonuses and stock on top of their base salary, with 91% of Kempczinski's salary based on the company's performance.

Kempczinski announced this week that he would take a 50% reduction in his base salary of $1.25 million from April 15 to September 30, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

McDonald's has faced backlash for what critics consider a lopsided pay ratio.

On Thursday, California McDonald's workers who are part of the Fight for 15 movement organized store walkouts to protest the company's response to the coronavirus. According to Fight for 15, at least three McDonald's workers in Los Angeles have tested positive for COVID-19.

That number includes 56-year-old Verli Godinez who worked last week without a mask in a store where another worker had tested positive. According to Godinez, McDonald's knew another worker had tested positive but had failed to inform other employees at the location.

McDonald's said in a statement to Business Insider that it is "continuously evolving our safety programs and modifying processes across the US in order to help customers and restaurant employees feel safe," and that masks are starting to arrive in franchisee and company-owned stores this week. Previously, McDonald's policies prevented most employees from wearing masks to work.

"Listening to employees, listening to feedback we're getting from customers and others is important," David Tovar, the vice president of US communications at McDonald's, told Business Insider last week. "We know that over the past few weeks as this situation has continued to evolve, we've been willing to listen to make adjustments as we need to."