Coca-Cola, Pepsi and McDonald's suspend business in Russia

[Nevilledog]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/coca-cola-follows-mcdonalds-starbucks-in-suspending-business-in-russia.html

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola on Tuesday said they were suspending business in Russia after that country’s invasion of Ukraine, joining McDonald’s, Starbucks and host of other U.S. corporations.

“Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine,” Coke said in a brief statement Tuesday afternoon. “We will continue to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve.”

Like McDonald’s, Coke had been under pressure to stop operating in Russia in recent days. However, the market represents one of the few regions worldwide where rival PepsiCo has a larger presence.

Earlier on Tuesday, both McDonald’s and Starbucks announced that their Russian restaurants would temporarily close. Of the two restaurant companies, McDonald’s has a larger presence in the country and receives a higher percentage of its global revenue from those sales. Starbucks also said that all of its Russian business activity is suspended, including shipping its products.

Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, many U.S. companies have looked to reduce their exposure in both Russia and Ukraine.

[PortTack]

1. Bout f'ing time!

[ProfessorGAC]

2. I Don't Understand The Delay, Even...

...for pure business reasons.
The currency is plummeting, the economy is already regressing, & if energy is embargoed, it will crash.
Where's the value in continuing business there right now?
Even if they were lazy & cowardly about taking a humanitarian position, simple business suggests revenues could quickly fall below cost.
And, even if a small profit could be maintained (unlikely) how do those companies expatriate it?
A purely business decision could have been made last Friday.

[Lovie777]

3. It's all about MONEY . . .

Seems like corporations can't get enough of it. Just look at the oil companies.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Not Sure You Caught My Point

There is little to no financial benefit to staying.
Yes, of course, it's about the money. But, if there's no money to be made, staying is stupid business.
And, if a little money is made, and it can't be repatriated, then it's equivalent to zero.
It makes no sense to stay.

[Gore1FL]

4. I suspect it had more to do with the movement of lumbering giant corporations than anything else. nt

[ProfessorGAC]

8. I Might Agree With That...

..except Coke & Pepsi are involved.
These are very diverse companies known for their corporate agility.
Those 2 companies could make this decision over a zoom meeting in 3 or 4 hours. That sort of nimbleness is a strength of both companies.
If it were GM, Ford, GE, et al, I'd be much inclined to accept your thought as true.
I don't know enough about the corporate culture of McDonald's.

[PortTack]

5. This!

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

6. Back to cabbage and potato soup and vodka for the next 20 years

[True Dough]

9. +1

for this guy's creativity:

Link to tweet