Gastronomy: McDonald's replaces US boss after weak numbers

Chicago. After a weak quarter, McDonald's is letting go of the head of its most important market, the USA. Skye Anderson will take over the leadership in the United States from Joe Erlinger with immediate effect, the fast-food company announced on Tuesday. CEO Chris Kempczinski justified the change with errors in the implementation of the sales strategy in the second quarter. The comparable sales growth in the US was 0.8 percent, below Wall Street expectations.

McDonald's failed to win back low-income customers who had recently limited their restaurant visits. The company did not have a strategy problem, but simply did not execute the plans at the necessary level, Kempczinski said. A multitude of promotional actions had overwhelmed employees in the restaurants and led to long waiting times for customers.

It was also wrong to eliminate digital discounts while introducing a new menu for under $3, which did not generate enough new sales. This was responsible for two-thirds of the missed sales targets.

Fixing this "bad business" will be Anderson's top priority for the next two quarters. The new US head has been with McDonald's for 26 years and was previously responsible for the operational US business. She will now lead the approximately 14,000 restaurants in the United States and drive forward a new strategy to reverse the trend.

Erlinger had been at the helm of the US division since 2019 and led the company through, among other things, an outbreak of E. coli bacteria in 2024. He will remain available to McDonald's as a consultant until early 2027.

The company stated that the change follows a plan that was already initiated at the beginning of the year.