In March in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the fast-food corporation announced they were closing all of their stores in Russia. Now, McDonalds will pull out of Russia permanently citing that business there is “no longer tenable.”
The corporation previously closed all of its 850 locations in the country permanently. Until now, they were still paying many of the 62,000 people that they employed.
But on Monday, McDonalds has cut the cord saying, “After more than 30 years of operations in the country, McDonald’s Corporation announced it will exit the Russian market and has initiated a process to sell its Russian business.”
Here is news coverage of when McDonald’s first opened after the Soviet Union in Pushkin square after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. The store set a record when more than 27,000 people applied for jobs when it opened. Many people touted the huge lines and excitement around the opening of the restaurant as symbolic at the time.
McDonalds will now start removing the golden arches and it’s name from buildings and is seeking to have a Russian buyer take the restaurants. They are still trying to find ways to retain the workers.
“The humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald’s to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable,” McDonalds said in a statement.
The corporation will retain its trademarks in the country. The company says pulling out will not hurt its revenue. They recorded 5.7 billion dollars last year.
McDonalds was not the first to leave the country as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Starbucks have ceased operations in the country after U.S. and Europe led sanctions were levied on the country at war.
Do you think that McDonalds will ever come back to Russia?
