McDonald's and Coca-Cola boycott calls grow over Russia

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Western food and drink companies are under pressure to leave Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

McDonald's and Coca-Cola have been criticized on social media for not speaking out about the attacks.

Levi's has stopped providing services in Russia, as have other well-known firms.

McDonald's and Coca-Cola did not respond to the request for comment.

On Monday and over the weekend, #BoycottMcDonalds and #Boycott Coca-Cola were popular.

Deborah Meaden spoke out against Coca-Cola on social media.

Can you stop drinking Coca Cola please. They are refusing to withdraw from Russia. Let’s show them some people power.

— Deborah Meaden 🇺🇦 (@DeborahMeaden) March 4, 2022

There are calls for other well-known Western firms to close their outlets and stop selling in Russia.

However, most firms have stayed silent on the issue, with the exception of Burger King and Starbucks.

Many of the firms contacted have a lot of stores in the country.

The fast food chain reached 1,000 restaurants in Russia last year. It plans to open 100 restaurants there in the year 2021.

McDonald's has over 800 stores in Russia according to recently published information on its website. The majority of these outlets are owned by the company, which is different from the rest of the world.

The boss of New York state's pension fund has made derogatory comments about Mcdonald's andPepsi, who have had a presence in Russia for decades.

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The comptroller of the New York state common retirement fund wrote letters to the companies, urging them to review their businesses in Russia because they face significant and growing legal, compliance, operational, human rights and personnel, and reputational risks.

Depending on the terms of their agreements with big food chains, franchise owners can decide whether or not to shut down their chains.

Kevin Johnson, the boss of Starbucks, described the attacks on Ukraine as unprovoked and unjust.

According to its website, most of its sites in Russia are still open. The majority of these franchises are run by the Alshaya Group.

Dr Ian Peters, director of the Institute for Business Ethics told the news organization that this is not a good time to sit on the fence.

The world is likely to judge companies by what they do in such circumstances and ethical judgement will be as important as complying with any government-led regulations and sanctions.

He said that most firms have an ethical compass that they use to make big decisions.

He said that firms should always look at the bigger picture and try to do the right thing.

The ethical dilemma of how to care for employees on the ground when suspending operations in Russia is one that might come up for companies. Is it right to deprive Russians of basic goods?

Kleio Akrivou, a professor of business ethics at the Henley Business School, believes that these types of decisions are more difficult to reach for food companies.

Firms may need to approach the situation more thoughtfully, with an appeal to practical reason, when it comes to sanctions which deprive the Russian population of its basic goods and dignity.

She said it's time for fast food giants to balance how real people are affected by such moves with any reputational risk.