American fast-food giant McDonald’s said on Tuesday it was temporarily closing everything of its 850 restaurants in Russia in country response invasion of Ukraine.
The burger chain said it would continue to pay its 62,000 employees in Russia”who have invested their hearts and souls in our McDonald’s brand. Corn in an open letter to employees, the President and Chief direction of McDonald’s, Chris Kempckinski, declared the closure of these stores, for now is the right thing to do.
“Our values mean that we cannot ignore the unnecessary human suffering that takes place in Ukraine,” Kempczinski said.
Kempczinski said it was impossible to know when the business can reopen stores.
“The situation is extraordinarily difficult for a global Mark like ours, and there are many considerations,” Kempczinski wrote. in the letter. McDonald’s is working with hundreds of Russian suppliers, for example, and serves millions of customers every day.
McDonald’s has also temporarily closed 108 restaurants in Ukraine and continues to pay these employees.
McDonald’s could take a big financial hit car of the closures. In a recent regulatory filing, the Chicago-based company said its restaurants in Russia and Ukraine contributed 9% of son annual turnover, approximately 2 billion dollars.
unlike others big fast-food brands in Russia which is owned by franchisees – including KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Burger King – McDonald’s owns 84% of son Russian locations.
Yum brands, the parent business of KFC and Pizza Hut, said Monday they were giving their all of profits from its 1,050 restaurants in Russia to humanitarian efforts. He has also suspended new restaurant development in the country. Starbucks said it was also donating profits from its 130 Russian companies stores to humanitarian efforts.
McDonald’s announced on Tuesday that it has donated more more than 5 millions dollars to his employee relief funds and relief efforts. He has also parked a Ronald McDonald House Charity mobile Polish border medical care unit with Ukraine; another one mobile the care unit is on its way to the border in Latvia, the company said.
The pressure is rising for McDonald’s and other businesses like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo which remain in Russia shoots out. Many companies have gone out of business in the country in demonstration of ukraine invasion. Among them is consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, which on On Tuesday, he announced the suspension of all imports and exports of its products in and out of Russia, and that it will no longer invest capital in the country.
Last week, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, an administrator of the states pension fund, which is an investor in McDonald’s – sent a letter to McDonald’s urging it to consider suspending operations in Russia.
“We believe that businesses that continue to operate in Russia and investing in Russian assets face legal, compliance, operational, human rights and personnel and reputational risks,” DiNapoli wrote.
