McDonald’s quitting Russia after three decades
McDonald’s is to permanently leave Russia after more than 30 years, the fast food giant has announced.
The move comes after it closed its 850 outlets in March in protest at the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The fast food giant said it made the decision because of the “humanitarian crisis” and “unpredictable operating environment” caused by the war.
The first McDonald’s in Russia was opened in Moscow in 1990, a year before the Soviet Union collapsed, and came to symbolise a thaw in Cold War tensions.
McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski told staff and suppliers: “This is a complicated issue that’s without precedent and with profound consequences.
“Some might argue that providing access to food and continuing to employ tens of thousands of ordinary citizens, is surely the right thing to do.
“But it is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. And it is impossible to imagine the Golden Arches representing the same hope and promise that led us to enter the Russian market 32 years ago.”
McDonald’s said it will sell all its sites to a local buyer and that its priorities included seeking to ensure its 62,000 employees in Russia continued to be paid until any sale was completed and that they had “future employment with any potential buyer”.
