A sign on a Starbucks in Moscow informs visitors that the coffee chain has suspended operations in Russia.
Charles Maynes/NPR
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Charles Maynes/NPR
A sign on a Starbucks in Moscow informs visitors that the coffee chain has suspended operations in Russia.
Charles Maynes/NPR
Starbucks is leaving Russia after 15 years in business. The coffee chain had temporarily closed its stores in March following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It’s the second major release by a global American brand from Russia, after McDonald’s last week began to ‘disarm’ its entire chain after 32 years.
Starbucks on March 8 suspended all operations of its 130 cafes in Russia, including coffee and product shipments. On Monday, the company said it “made the decision to step aside and no longer have a brand present in the [Russian] market.”
Starbucks said Monday it would continue to pay its nearly 2,000 employees in Russia for six months and help them find new jobs. The company opened its first Russia-based cafe in 2007, in a shopping mall on the outskirts of Moscow.
Unlike McDonald’s, Starbucks did not operate its cafes in Russia, but had a licensing agreement. Last Monday, McDonald’s announced that it would sell its entire portfolio of more than 800 restaurants to a major Russian licensee, which will rebrand it and promise jobs for some 62,000 McDonald’s employees for two years.
