A list of companies still doing business in Russia circulated. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Starbucks soon pulled out.

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Among executives, board members, analysts and others in the business
world in recent days, a “who’s who” list has been floating around,
showing which companies have pulled out of Russia amid its attack on
Ukraine — and which ones have stayed put.

The spreadsheet, compiled by Yale University professor Jeffrey
Sonnenfeld and his research team, has become a naughty-or-nice list
of sorts, with CEOs trying their best to avoid being placed on the
roster of “Companies That Remain in Russia With Significant
Exposure.”

https://som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/styles/scaled_1344_/public/
2022-03/list_of_businesses_-_mar_8_v16.png?itok=ytEtOJOr

Sonnenfeld, who founded the nonprofit Chief Executive Leadership
Institute, said he has fielded calls from CEOs asking “why we didn’t
have them on the right list, and what they needed to do to either
clarify or actually take a more strong stance.”


The gutting of the Russian economy has shattered the image that
President Vladimir Putin had created, portraying himself as an all-
powerful leader with things under control, Sonnenfeld said in a
phone interview Monday with The Washington Post.

And with Russian state media echoing Putin’s framing of the war as a
“special military operation,” Sonnenfeld added, the corporate
pullouts provide a tangible message that the attack “isn’t just some
little military operation.”

Even among those on the list of “Companies That Have Curtailed
Russian Operations,” some are taking a stronger position against the
invasion than others, Sonnenfeld said. According to the list, BASF
SE, a German chemical company, said it would “suspend new Russian
relationships,” while other companies including Apple and Chanel
have closed stores or cut off supply chains. FedEx is halting all
shipments to Russia, and major oil companies including ExxonMobil
have said they will exit operations there, leaving billions of
dollars on the table.

Although some companies could argue that exiting Russia would harm
employees there who are removed from Putin’s decision to invade
Ukraine, Sonnenfeld said that “the idea is not to minimize the
pain.”

He said executives and board members should get past the idea that
“somehow there’s a win-win solution” and recognize that forcing an
economic collapse on the Russian people is part of preventing a
harsher outcome for them.

“This is one step away from open warfare,” he said. “This is a
last-ditch effort. You’re helping those workers by not having [the
West] dropping bombs and shooting them.”

Among those on the list of companies who had been keeping business
as usual are major brands such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-
Cola. Before McDonald’s on Tuesday said it would temporarily close
its 850 restaurants in Russia, Sonnenfeld said McDonald’s was the
“screaming anomaly that’s bewildering to all its peers.” It had
remained operational in Russia even though it has control of more
than 85 percent of its restaurants there, unlike companies such as
Starbucks, which are hindered by franchise obligations. Starbucks
also on Tuesday announced it would immediately halt business
activity in Russia, including store operations and product shipment.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/08/russia-company-
boycott-yale-list/

[War Sucks For USA Progressive Socialist CEO Assholes]