Forget E. coli; Pests force fast-food chain to close 2,000 stores
The global chain appears to have a very big health and safety problem involving potential infestations.
Back in 2015 Chipotle had an E. Coli scandal that literally threatened to put the company out of business.
In a single year, the company's stock dropped by 37% of its market value and the company's profits plumetted.
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"The fourth quarter of 2015 was the most challenging period in Chipotle's history," Chipotle CEO Steve Ells said in a statement at the time.
So, you would have to assume that the Mexican chain had a widespread outbreak that impacted hundreds, maybe even thousands of stores, and that it handled that outbreak poorly. In reality, that was not the case.
The Chipotle case involved 1,100 people getting sick over a three-year period between 2015 and 2018.
When the various stores (about 60) had reported incidents of people being sick, they were closed for half a day immediately for a deep cleaning. Once it was clear the issue was not isolated, the company shut down the entire chain in order to conduct more training and enact new procedures.
