McDonald’ssaidMondaythatithasstartedtheprocessofsellingitsRussianbusiness,whichincludes850restaurantsthatemploy62,000people,makingitthelatestmajorWesterncorporationtoexitRussiasinceitinvadedUkraineinFebruary. Thefastfoodgiantpointedtothehumanitariancrisiscausedbythewar,sayingholdingontoitsbusinessinRussia“isnolongertenable,norisitconsistentwithMcDonald’svalues.” TheChicago-basedcompanyannouncedinearlyMarchthatitwastemporarilyclosingitsstoresinRussiabutwouldcontinuetopayemployees.OnMonday,itsaiditwouldseektohaveaRussianbuyerhirethoseworkersandpaythemuntilthesalecloses.Itdidnotidentifyaprospectivebuyer. CEOChrisKempczinskisaidthe“dedicationandloyaltytoMcDonald’s”ofemployeesandhundredsofRussiansuppliersmadeitadifficultdecisiontoleave. “However,wehaveacommitmenttoourglobalcommunityandmustremainsteadfastinourvalues,”Kempczinskisaidinastatement,“andourcommitmenttoourvaluesmeansthatwecannolongerkeepthearchesshiningthere.” Asittriestosellitsrestaurants,McDonald’ssaiditplanstostartremovinggoldenarchesandothersymbolsandsignswiththecompany’sname.ItsaiditwillkeepitstrademarksinRussia. ThefirstMcDonald’sinRussiaopenedinthemiddleofMoscowmorethanthreedecadesago,shortlyafterthefalloftheBerlinWall.ItwasapowerfulsymboloftheeasingofColdWartensionsbetweentheUnitedStatesandSovietUnion. McDonald’swasthefirstAmericanfastfoodrestauranttoopenintheSovietUnion,whichwouldcollapsein1991.McDonald’sdecisiontoleavecomesasotherAmericanfoodandbeveragegiantsincludingCoca-Cola,PepsiandStarbuckshavepausedorclosedoperationsinRussiainthefaceofWesternsanctions. CorporationsfromBritishenergygiantsShellandBPtoFrenchcarmakerRenaulthavepulledoutofRussia,takingahittotheirbottomlinesastheyseektoselltheirholdingsthere.Othercompanieshavestayedatleastpartially,withsomefacingblowback. McDonald’ssaiditexpectstorecordachargeagainstearningsofbetween$1.2billionand$1.4billionoverleavingRussia. ItsrestaurantsinUkraineareclosed,butthecompanysaiditiscontinuingtopayfullsalariesforitsemployeesthere. McDonald’shasmorethan39,000locationsacrossmorethan100countries.Mostareownedbyfranchisees—onlyabout5%areownedandoperatedbythecompany. McDonald’ssaidexitingRussiawillnotchangeitsforecastofaddinganet1,300restaurantsthisyear,whichwillcontributeabout1.5%tocompanywidesalesgrowth. Lastmonth,McDonald’sreportedthatitearned$1.1billioninthefirstquarter,downfrommorethan$1.5billionayearearlier.Revenuewasnearly$5.7billion. Sourcelink
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