Mass exodus: Behind corporate America's unprecedented show of force against Putin's invasion

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Over the past two weeks, hundreds of major corporations with substantial ties to Russia have withdrawn from the country amid its devastating invasion of Ukraine. The mass exodus is a marked departure from what is generally Corporate America's tepid response to calls for divestment on the basis of human rights matters.

From Credit Suisse and BP to UPS and Activision Blizzard, companies all across the industrial spectrum have halted Russian exports and capital investments, a move that follows suit with the rash of stiff U.S. sanctions imposed on the country's energy and financial sectors. Others like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Mcdonald's have shuttered hundreds of Russia-based offices, stores, and manufacturing plants despite what will likely amount to billions of dollars in financial losses.

But even in the face of immense public pressure, dozens of prominent companies still enmeshed in Russia's economy have opted to ride out the public relations storm, according to an expansive public list compiled by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management.

Notable among them are major hotel and resort chains like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Accor, as well as food chains and manufacturers such as Nestlé, Cargill, Mars, and Papa John's. Other examples include pharmaceutical company AbbVie, Bridgestone Tire, Ferragamo, Dow Chemical Company, John Deere, and cigarette maker Philip Morris.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/mass-exodus-behind-corporate-americas-unprecedented-show-of-force-against-putins-invasion/ar-AAUYBUB

[Turbineguy]

1. Putin is threatening to nationalize their assets.

He thinks he can steal his way out of this mess.

[SCantiGOP]

5. Won't work

Say you are given the rights to the brand and all the property that McDonalds owns in Russia. You would have to re-establish the entire supply chain, from packaging to food items, and much of that now comes from outside Russia.
The biggest advantage a huge operation like McDonalds has over smaller outlets is their economy of scale, and that wouldn’t exist in a country locked down by international sanctions. Within a few weeks the new Russian MackyD’s would be selling cups of vodka and borscht.

[world wide wally]

2. I will bet the farm that not even one of these corporations go bankrupt because of it

[paleotn]

4. Multi nationals. Russia is only a relatively small part of their business.

[paleotn]

3. A loss now, or the threat of losses later....

A measure of corporate risk aversion. For those taking the riskier path, a reversion back to recent normality doesn't have a very high probability in my mind. Short term, I'm not sure how they can even operate, much less profitably under sanctions. They can't bring in capital investment, spares, can't export from Russia and what profits they do make domestically are in rubles and nearly worthless outside of Russia.

Putting morals aside, I'd lean towards the BP approach of taking one big financial beating now instead of prolonged beatings over who knows how long. And you may still have to pull the plug at some future date. If Putin does get deposed or has a massive change of heart, it might give them a leg up on those trying to reenter the Russian market, but at what cost? And the odds of that don't seem good to me. Take the loss and move on.