In a recently unearthed 2022 video, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski warned Chicago business leaders about the city’s escalating crime crisis, calling it “increasingly difficult” to operate globally from there. In a viral clip, he noted executives’ reluctance to relocate to Chicago, emphasizing the company’s commitment is not “open-ended” or “unconditional” due to shareholder obligations.
In the same clip, posted to social media, journalists highlighted it as a “stark warning,” suggesting the headquarters might leave after decades. Conservatives on social media blasted the woke city, pointing to the reality of societal decay from deficits, homelessness, violence, and fraud.
In any case, the clip of the CEO began with a journalist introducing the leader of the fast-food giant’s comments. “The CEO of McDonald’s is making a stunning revelation to other corporate CEOs: Chicago, crime is making it very hard to do business,” a reporter noted.
Chris Kempczinski, the CEO, broke down the issue in the far-left city. “Everywhere I go, I’m confronted by the same question these days, what’s going on in Chicago? There is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis,” he noted, describing just how bad things were getting in the once-great city.
“It’s more difficult today for me to convince a promising McDonald’s executive to relocate to Chicago from one of our other offices than it was just a few years ago,” Kempczinski said to wrap up his comments on the windy city.
Offering more context, another journalist in the clip dug into the details, explaining, “McDonald’s CEO just delivered a stark warning to Chicago, the company that has been headquartered in the city for decades, says staying there is no longer guaranteed. Crime has driven employees away. Executives refuse to relocate. The Golden Arches may be leaving for good.”
“[He] stood in front of Chicago business leaders and said what many have been thinking but few have been willing to say out loud, it has become increasingly difficult to operate a global business out of the city of Chicago,” the reporter explained.
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The video then cut to another clip of the leading business executive revealing that “McDonald’s commitment to Chicago is not open-ended. It is not unconditional. As a publicly traded company, their shareholders would not tolerate that. This is not posturing.”
Watch the clip here:
In the comments under the clip, conservatives blasted the woke city. “When even McDonald’s can’t make Chicago work, the problem isn’t perception but it’s reality,” one user quipped. “Chicago’s blue-city brilliance: Turning golden arches into goodbye arches,” another sardonically posted.
Despondent, another user reacted, “Meanwhile, deficits will continue to escalate, homelessness goes up, violence against law-abiding citizens, and taxes will rise. Societal decay — step by step. This is a spending and fraud issue. People have had enough. You can’t tax your way out of a mess like this.”
Featured image from embedded video