Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. American companies scrambled to react. On March 8, McDonald's announced all stores in Russia and Ukraine would be "temporarily" closed. The announcement included language such as, "At the same time, our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine. " and " We will also closely monitor the humanitarian situation."
Vladimir Putin expected the Ukrainian takeover to take a few days. McDonald's management was probably thinking in weeks or months.
Twelve days ago, this looked like a military matter, but it's now evident that Putin intends to exterminate as many Ukrainian people as possible. Few of us were around for World War Two, but the images coming out of Eastern Europe certainly look like the documentaries and movies we've viewed all our lives.
On March 8, Putin wasn't being called a war criminal; today, he is. Twelve days ago, Putin wasn't being compared to Adolf Hitler; today, he is. The civilized world has turned against him. That escalated quickly.
If the Putin government survives the year, Russia will be an impossible place to do business. Prominent symbols of Americana like McDonald's will be vilified by the government and permanently driven out of the country. If Putin loses his grip on power, there's no way to tell who will be in charge, and there's a chance of a Russian civil war.
Once all McDonald's stores in Russia are closed, they won't be reopening.
Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera recently said, "In three weeks Putin destroyed modern Russia."
It would be impossible for McDonald's to resume operations in a nation as it reverts to the dark ages.
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4 comments:
If McD is not allowed to return to Russia, it will be interesting to see if stockholders hold Chris K responsible for losing $600,000,000 annually in a blatant attempt to pander to the left and be politically correct. SMH
I don't think not was a pander. The supply chain and quality control are destroyed. And who wants to get paid in worthless rubles?
Chris K, as much of a pajama boy that he is, really didn't have a choice. The first good decision he has made was to spin the only business option that he had into a PR move. The lefties are too dumb to realize that he has no choice so at least McDoanlds got credit for it.
He is painted into a corner, isn't he? No one can think it makes sense to pay employees for not working on a long-term basis. However, once MCD stops paying these employees it's an admission that management does not think they will ever resume operations in Russia. If MCD is the first major company to make such a statement it will be huge international news.
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Losing $50,000,000 a month. Be on the lookout for MCD trying to recoup some of the losses by raising our fees. Anyone remember the TECH FEE? Or Chris Ks comment that he could "easily" justify raising the service fee to 4.5% or more?
What other costs will MCD try to shift to our P&Ls?
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