Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

corporate.mcdonalds.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 394 posts

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#91

Post by jcranmer »

lnxg33k1 wrote: post #34
ineedasername wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think whether they go back will depend on what the country looks like after things stabilize. If Russia comes out of this still on belligerent footing then spending resources to reestablish a presence will be extremely risky. Even if leadership changes and makes conciliatory noises I would expect things to still take some years before the world can trust it's authentic.

Quoted post unavailable.

Why is it more important to listen to Russia than to listen to Ukraine, Sweden, and Finland? Or also Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia?

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#92

Post by megous »

lnxg33k1 wrote: post #34
ineedasername wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think whether they go back will depend on what the country looks like after things stabilize. If Russia comes out of this still on belligerent footing then spending resources to reestablish a presence will be extremely risky. Even if leadership changes and makes conciliatory noises I would expect things to still take some years before the world can trust it's authentic.

Quoted post unavailable.

Vladimir Pozner is not a scholar, right?

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#93

Post by bena »

lillecarl wrote: post #72
paganel wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is victim-blaming, don't you think?

You're opening for me to go off-topic and talk about drug abuse here. And my opinion is that the user is at fault for consuming unhealthy amounts of X, but that we as society should help out. (See the resemblance?) (Also note that society might have failed people and led them to abuse too, but the final decision is made by the person either way). But closing the door for people who don't have issues with self-restrai…

Part of the point is that other nations have stricter regulations about what companies can and cannot do.

Companies in the US pretty much have had a free-for-all on the population.

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#94

Post by AnonCoward4 »

eatonphil wrote: post #23

This is a surprisingly well-written, engaging corporate statement. Most statements are pretty bland and purely to the point but after reading this I thought I was reading news coverage of their exit not their own statement.

In Germany this is called "Gratismut" (gratis bravery). It's the current thing to hate Russia, so they don't lose anything by doing a passionate write-up about it. McDonald's also wants to convince you that they have any values, but in reality they have no problem with horrendous human rights violations in other countries.

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#95

Post by jquery »

cbozeman wrote: post #74
chongli wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a globally recognizable brand like McDonald's, the move to leave the country has a symbolic meaning. It sends a message to the Russian people that something is deeply wrong with the direction taken by their government. Of course, some Russians will interpret the move differently, but that cannot be avoided.

I don't think this is the reasoning at all. I think trying to conduct transactions in a heavily sanctioned nation that's also fighting a war of aggression against a neighbor, and incurring heavy losses, is causing a headache for the bean counters, and it has finally become more trouble than it's worth, financially. These enormous multinational behemoths - as an entity - don't give two shits about the people dying in…

All international conglomerates are amoral. Some are more amoral than others.

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#96

Post by scandox »

baybal2 wrote: post #83
klausjensen wrote: post #77

I remember the evening news on TV when the first McDonald's restaurant opened in 1990 at Pushkin Square. There was a huge crowd of Russians outside, wanting to try the burger. It was a sign of a more open world, something resembling an end of the cold war. There was a sense of optimism in the West about a peaceful future with Russia. It does not matter that McD itself is closing in Russia, but it does tell us somethi…

One of my traumas from life in Russia during my childhood is the understanding that you live in a North Korea redux, and you have McDonalds, and other Western companies from democratic countries coming here, and feeding that regime. US politicians kept droning how terrible Russia was through whole 200X, yet allow their companies to "wage business on the free world" Can you imagine McDonalds in Pyongyang, and Don Thom…

I'd be interested in your opinion on the alternatives. Would it have been better for you (and the country) if those businesses had decided in the noughties that Russia was not democratic enough and pulled out? Do you think it would have made a major impact at that time?

Or do you think it should have been tackled from an anti-corruption point of view with investigations into how those companies were conducting business?

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#97

Post by eddieroger »

rubyist5eva wrote: post #67

This actually sounds like a positive. Can they exit from Canada next?

Based on what? I'm sure they could exit anywhere they wanted, but since Canada isn't actively committing war crimes and having sanctions placed on it, what positive would come from leaving Canada?

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#98

Post by Bud »

I visited the USSR in 1990 and ate at that first McDonald's in Moscow. People were deliriously happy. It was a hopeful time. And such a beautiful country. The most amazing architecture; shockingly incredibly museums.

We seem to have lost those times of hope. It's tragic.

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#99

Post by adventured »

cbozeman wrote: post #74
chongli wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a globally recognizable brand like McDonald's, the move to leave the country has a symbolic meaning. It sends a message to the Russian people that something is deeply wrong with the direction taken by their government. Of course, some Russians will interpret the move differently, but that cannot be avoided.

I don't think this is the reasoning at all. I think trying to conduct transactions in a heavily sanctioned nation that's also fighting a war of aggression against a neighbor, and incurring heavy losses, is causing a headache for the bean counters, and it has finally become more trouble than it's worth, financially. These enormous multinational behemoths - as an entity - don't give two shits about the people dying in…

The parent did not say that was the reason, they said McDonald's leaving has symbolic meaning - which it absolutely does in a huge way.

> These enormous multinational behemoths - as an entity - don't give two shits about the people dying in Ukraine, Russian soldiers dying, or the Russian people enduring hardships. They care about profit.

Of course they do care about the context, very obviously, precisely because it can affect their profits. Which is why so many companies rapidly bandied together and left Russia, even when they legally didn't have to. The stigma of being associated with Russia is brand damaging, which is ultimately profit damaging (and Russia isn't worth enough as a market for most corporate giants to warrant taking that brand hit). That's the clear corporate equation.

Re: McDonald’s to Exit from Russia

#100

Post by Aissen »

sega_sai wrote: post #84
mupuff1234 wrote: post #8

Can you sell the Russian business without violating the sanctions?

I think the problem is that they may not be allowed to bring the money outside Russia, as there are now capital controls on foreign currency. That's why there a few foreign factories, like Renault who seemed to have "sold" them for like 1 ruble.

For context, Renault sold its majority stake in AvtoVAZ (Lada, 45k employees) today for 1 ruble to the Russian government, with the option to buy-back for the next 6 years:

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2022/05/16/french-...

Post reply on HN