Not all Western companies sever ties to Russia over Ukraine

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A shrinking number of well-known companies are still doing business in Russia, even as hundreds have announced plans to curtail ties.

Burger King restaurants are open, Eli Lilly is supplying drugs, and PepsiCo is selling milk and baby food, but no more soda.

The pace of businesses exiting Russia accelerated over the past week as the deadly violence and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine worsened, and as Western governments ratcheted up economic sanctions to punish Russia for its two-week-old invasion. Major oil companies BP and Shell walked away from multibillion-dollar investments. McDonald's and Starbucks stopped serving customers.

The companies that still have a presence in Russia say they have franchise owners or employees to consider; they don't want to punish Russians by taking away food or medicine; or they provide software or financial services for Western businesses that aren't easy to replace.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/not-all-western-companies-sever-ties-to-russia-over-ukraine/ar-AAUTQxi

[Biophilic]

1. They don't want to "punish Russians by taking away food or medicine"?

What do they think is happening to Ukrainians simply because they live some place that Putin wants to control?

[PortTack]

2. This! Profits over war, famine and cruel death

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. I share your frustration, but babies and children have done nothing that deserves no medicine

or food.

[Biophilic]

4. And babies in Ukraine do not deserve to be bombed and die. As long as the Russian populace

is, at best, indifferent to the Ukrainian's plight Russia will continue to destroy a nation.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. And YOU know this to be true?

There were plenty of people who were angry with the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and men in Iraq, but it still happened. The children of Russia do not deserve to be mistreated just because their "leader" is a evil dictator. JMO

[Biophilic]

6. No, I only know what I've experienced for 75 years of hot wars and cold wars and

fighting for the causes I believed in. Sometimes I get tired of watching innocent people lose their lives, their families, their countries and their way of life. Sometimes I just want some justice. But there really isn't any and that is sometimes to awful to bear.

[uponit7771]

7. sssshit

[dlk]

8. Rationalizations in the name of greed

No one believes them.

[quakerboy]

9. Im not going to ding anyone anywhere for selling baby food

Just not gonna do it. I dont care who or where or when. If Trump himself sent a truckload of baby food to North Korea tomorrow, I'd try to figure out what his angle was, but id still be happy food was going to babies that needed it.

That said.. The last line of the copied section is bull shit. Dont care if they provide something that isnt easy to replace. Cut ties and move on. Inconvenience is not a valid reason.

[Wingus Dingus]

10. Burger King--McDonald's took a hit, you should too.

Instead you're trying to profit from their pull-out.

[Wingus Dingus]

11. Wait--CNN says Burger King is stopping operations in Russia.

But the franchisees control the businesses, so they're staying open.

[Totally Tunsie]

12. Aren't the franchisees required to obtain their products and supplies only from BK Corporate?

If Corporate is pulling out, how would supplies be made available? In a franchise, one hand washes the other...always.

[Wingus Dingus]

13. That's what I don't get either--the article said

BK's hands were somewhat tied because of the franchise structure there, but they are suspending corporate support of operations and donating any profits to Ukraine relief.

[Totally Tunsie]

14. This is a big hole in the AP article - no explanation

about how the franchises would be able to continue to operate without Corporate's involvement.

Fast-food companies often have franchising agreements that complicate an exit, because they don't own those locations.

That helps explain why Restaurant Brands International, owner of Burger King, is keeping its 800 restaurants open in Russia. And why Yum Brands, parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, announced the closure of 70 company-owned KFCs across Russia, but not the nearly 1,000 franchisee-owned KFCs, or its 50 Pizza Hut locations.

Sounds like these franchises will totally be without necessary support to do business.

[Wingus Dingus]

15. Yes, unless they have alternate supplies available

within the region for corporate-supplied things like patties, buns, chicken tenders--it's hard to see how they can be run the same way, with the same resulting products. It's like now they're just small businesses making burgers and fries with local distributors' food.

[Totally Tunsie]

16. Exactly.

It would be completely outside the parameters of the franchise agreement for the owners to seek supplies that are not BK specific. I don't doubt they'd be able to find some supplies (no doubt with difficulty), but they'll be violating their contracts to make such purchases. BK Corporate will have to do more than just shut themselves down. Their choices: 1) forbid the shops from operating with unauthorized supplies, 2) relax their contract requirements, OR 3) make sure the correct supplies are somehow provided.