Global fast-food giant McDonald's and French carmaker Renault have become the latest major corporations to announce their exit from Russia, joining dozens of others in an exodus over Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
U.S.-based McDonald's said in a statement from its corporate headquarters in Chicago on May 16 that after more than 30 years of operations in Russia, it will exit the Russian market and has initiated a process to sell its Russian business.
SEE ALSO: The Week In Russia: Big Mac Memories And Long-Held GrievancesDozens of major international companies from a broad range of sectors have exited Russia since it launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
"The humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald's to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald's values," the statement says.
SEE ALSO: G7 Asks China Not To Aid Russia; Demands Moscow Lift Blockade On Ukrainian Grain Exports"As part of McDonald's decision to exit, the Company is pursuing the sale of its entire portfolio of McDonald's restaurants in Russia to a local buyer. The Company intends to initiate the process of “de-Arching” those restaurants, which entails no longer using the McDonald’s name, logo, branding, and menu, though the Company will continue to retain its trademarks in Russia," it added.
The announcement came the same day Renault said it had reached an agreement to sell its Russian holdings, including its controlling interest in AvtoVAZ, the maker of Lada vehicles.
Renault said that it was selling its 100 percent stake in Renault Russia to the city of Moscow, while its 67.69 percent interest in AvtoVAZ will be sold to the state-owned Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute (NAMI), with a provision to buy back that stake "at certain times during the next six years."
"Today, we have taken a difficult but necessary decision; and we are making a responsible choice towards our 45,000 employees in Russia, while preserving the Group's performance and our ability to return to the country in the future, in a different context," Luca de Meo, the chief executive officer of Renault Group, said in the statement.
Financial details of the transactions were not revealed, but Renault has said it would record a non-cash adjustment charge of $2.3 billion related to Russia in its 2022 first-half results.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said after the announcement that production of passenger cars under the Moskvich brand will resume at the Moscow Renault plant as "we cannot allow thousands of workers to be left without work."
Russian truck manufacturer KamAZ will become a technical partner at the plant. he said.
McDonald's directly manages more than 80 percent of the restaurants in Russia that bear the company's name, and accounts for about 9 percent of its revenue and 3 percent of its operating profit.
Worldwide, McDonald's have more than 39,000 locations in over 100 countries.