Chipotle co-CEOs 2015 compensation halved amid food-safety scare

Thomson ReutersThe sun shines over a temporarily closed Chipotle restaurant in Billerica

(Reuters) – Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc’s co-chief executive officers’ total compensation more than halved in 2015, a year when the one-time Wall Street darling lost flavor following a series of food-borne illnesses linked to its restaurants.

Founder and co-Chief Executive Steve Ells’ total compensation fell 52 percent to $13.8 million, from a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.

Co-CEO Monty Moran’s total compensation fell about 51 percent to $13.6 million.

Chipotle shares, which hit an all-time high of $758.61 on Aug. 5, have been hammered by the food safety incidents, with the latest one reported earlier this week at a Boston-area restaurant.

The company’s shares closed at $507.85 on Friday.

Ells and Moran have been leading the company’s efforts to reassure customers and last month laid out their program to improve restaurant safety.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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