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While a number of Western companies have pulled out of business in Russia, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are still active there. Now the pressure is increasing on the US giants to show their colors.
The chain has 847 branches – most of which the group operates itself.
Peter Kovalev/TASS
Coca-Cola is also doing well in Russia…
Getty
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A number of Western companies have stopped operating in Russia.
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Others like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Starbucks or McDonald’s continue to do business there.
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Now the pressure on these corporations from consumers and politicians is increasing.
Apple, Ikea, Netflix, Nike, H&M, Disney, Warners Brothers, Mastercard, American Express or Visa: the list of Western companies that no longer do business in Russia is long. But other companies, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, continue to operate in Russia.
Now, however, an increasingly violent wind is blowing against these corporations. Hashtags like #BoycottCocaCola or #BoycottMcDonalds are currently trending on Twitter. For example, in calls by the British businesswoman and TV personality Debora Meaden or the bestselling horror author Stephen King.
McDonald’s, for example, operates 847 branches in Russia – 84 percent of them itself and only a few as franchise companies. KFC opened according to the «Bild» newspaper 2021 its 1000th branch in Russia. The fact that these companies continue to make money in Russia and that Putin pays taxes for it is becoming an issue for more and more people. In Ukraine, Coca-Cola products have been banned from the shelves.
how NBC News reported, Thomas DiNapoli, auditor for the US state of New York and administrator of the pension fund, has now also intervened in the discussion: He calls on US companies that still do business in Russia to reconsider their position. These would increasingly take “legal, business and human rights” risks and also endanger their reputation.
“While US sanctions already prohibit investments in many Russian companies, I think it would be wise to extend this to all Russian companies,” he said. He addressed companies like Pepsi, Estee Lauder, Kimberly-Clark and others that are still active in Russia. However, he did not mention Coca-Cola.
The company said last week it was donating $1 million to the Red Cross to help refugees in Poland and other countries, and Starbucks has also donated $500,000 to humanitarian causes related to the Ukraine war, according to a spokesman. But they are not doing without the Russian business at the moment.
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