Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Ukraine war: Burger King still open in Russia despite pledge to exit

Burger King is still open in Russia despite its owner's promise to leave over a year ago. According to David Shear, the president of Burger King's parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) the company has "nothing new to share" regarding its exit from Russia. 

In March 2022, RBI announced that it had begun the process of leaving Russia. Western companies have been forced to leave Russia since the start of the war. RBI has been accused of sabotaging Putin's regime by not divesting from its Russian business, which is one of the largest in the world. The company has cited a complicated franchise agreement as one of the difficulties in exiting Russia. 

Steven Tian, who works with a group of researchers to track what companies are doing in response to the war in Ukraine, said that using franchise agreements as an excuse was a convenient smokescreen. “Companies like Starbucks have managed to end their deals in Russia and exit,” he said. “RBI says they want to leave, but then they don’t. By continuing to operate in Russia 18 months after Putin invaded Ukraine, they are supporting Putin’s regime.” 

The RBI spokesperson also said that the company was declining new investments and supply chain support and that Burger King has not made any profits since early 2022.

Written by Paula Guerrero López

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