McDonald’s bows to pressure and closes all its Russian restaurants

theguardian.com:

McDonald’s is temporarily closing its 850 restaurants in Russia and pausing all operations in the country, a decision that will affect 62,000 jobs, aftermounting calls for action after the invasion of Ukraine.

The burger chain said it would continue to pay the salaries for all employees in Russia and its charitable arm, Ronald McDonald House Charities, would also continue in the country.

In a message to staff and franchisees, Chris Kempczinski, the chief executive of McDonald’s, said the situation was “extraordinarily challenging for a global brand like ours”, which he said worked with hundreds of local suppliers and partners producing its food. “We understand the impact this will have on our Russian colleagues and partners,” he said.

But he added: “Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine.”

McDonald’s and other western food and drink companies including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have faced calls to pull out of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. The film-maker and actor Sean Penn called on Americans to boycott the brand.

On Tuesday night the coffee giant Starbucks became the latest company to say it was suspending all business activity in Russia. It said it would stop shipping its products and its cafes, run by a licensee, would close.

The company said that Kuwait-based Alshaya Group, which operates at least 100 Starbucks cafes, would still support its nearly 2,000 staff in Russia “who depend on Starbucks for their livelihood”.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told CNN two days ago that “all western companies must withdraw from Russia” on humanitarian grounds. “We were upset to hear companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s remain in Russia and continue providing their