Companies Who Refuse To Leave Russia
There are a number of companies who refuse to leave Russia and say it’s due to “humanitarian concerns.” Previous reports have shown big names like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Universal Music, and Heineken have all exited Russia. There are others who have stayed to provide essential needs.
Abbott Labs, AbbVie, AmerisourceBergen, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer had to stay to provide medicines. They cited that humanitarian decency requires them to provide health-related supply chains. We have to remember that the people of Russia did not sign up for war. They have the right to the supply of vital medicines, especially for those with underlying health concerns.
Carlsberg, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft-Heinz, Mars, Mondelez, Nestle, and Pepsi supply water and food. There are essential grocery items produced by these companies that are necessities for daily life. Granted that chocolates and snacks are not that essential but everyone needs access to it.
Ventures
Dunkin Donuts, Papa John’s, Burger King, and Yum Brands are franchises that have cut ties but the venture partner in Russia refused to close. These chains own only a part of their business in Russia, mostly below 50%. If their Russian business partner who owns most of the share decides to stay open, they could not do anything.
Bunge, Cargill, and Trafigura argue that exiting the country could risk world supply chains. Natural resources like wheat, corn, and nickel are used for producing essential products. Not just for Russia but for the entire world. Suspending operations in this area could mean a reduction of supply.
At the end of the day, we have to separate the people, they did not sign up for the war. Granted that the people of Ukraine did not sign up for it too, it was not the Russian people who attacked them. We also have to keep in mind they are human too, they too have needs and they too deserve to be supplied with essential goods.