McDonald's accused of gouging franchisees on US$3b in rent

New York

McDonald's Corp should be investigated for gouging franchisees on rents and deceiving them about how the amounts are calculated, a labour union said in letters to two state attorneys general.

US franchisees paid the world's biggest fast-food chain more than US$3 billion in rents last year, a rate of return on McDonald's real-estate investments that's as much as triple the industry average, the Service Employees International Union said Tuesday in a statement. The high cost allegedly makes it harder for franchisees to pay living wages.