Which companies are leaving Russia and which are staying? Here is an overview

FRANKFURT, Germany — More than 500 companies have suspended operations in Russia and a similar number have pulled out altogether.

Another 151 “reduce”, 175 “save time” and 230 “dig in”, according to the database kept by Yale University. Chinese companies feature prominently in the last category.

Here is a look at some of the Western companies that have chosen to stay in or leave Russia:

LEAVE

– Volkswagen on Friday reached an agreement to sell its Russian operations, including its plant in the western city of Kaluga with 4,000 employees, to an entity backed by Russian dealership Avilon.

The deal had been delayed for months by a lawsuit from Russian automaker GAZ. It made contract cars for VW until the partnership was ended in what the German company called a mutual agreement in May 2022.

Although VW has divested its business in Russia, it still faces lawsuits.

— Owner of KFC Yum! The brands withdrew from Russia in March 2022 and some restaurants were renamed Rostic’s, a former post-Soviet brand.

“The workers are welcoming, just like before,” said Timofey Sosnovsky, a 33-year-old teacher, at a newly reopened site in Moscow, where people dug into buckets of red and white striped chicken and boxes of nuggets. “Actually, I didn’t feel any difference between KFC and Rostic.”

– Austrian forest products company Mondi is still awaiting approval after reaching a deal in August to sell its assets, including a large plant in the northern town of Syktyvkar, for 95 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) to billionaire Viktor Kharitonin’s Augment Investments group.

It has also yet to gain approval after the Gotek Group agreed in December to buy three small Mondi packaging operations.

— Another forest products company, Stora Enso, handed over its packaging plants to local management, but is still awaiting approval to get rid of two small Russian forest companies.

– Italian power generation company Enel has agreed to sell part of its holdings in the power plant to Russian oil company Lukoil, which has been under US sanctions since 2014 when Russia seized the power plant. Crimean peninsula of Ukraine.

STAY

– Burger King, owned by Restaurant Brands International, and Carl’s Jr., owned by CKE Restaurents, are both still open in Moscow. Neither company responded to emailed questions.

RBI’s international chairman David Shear said in a letter to employees last year that franchise agreements made it impossible for the local operator to shut down as the company tried to sell its 15% stake in the Russian joint venture. Among its partners was the investment arm of the state-owned bank VTB.

“There are no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract,” he said. “That’s also why you can see other brands in Russia with similar structures continuing to operate in the market.”

All profits are donated to the United Nations refugee agency.

— Products from Italian beverage company Campari Group, which makes the popular Aperol liqueur, are still available in Russia.

The company said it would stop advertising and reduce operations just enough to pay its 118 employees in Russia. He did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

– Titan International, based in Quincy, Ill., maker of tires for agricultural tractors, retained its majority stake in its factory in the city of Volgograd, in the south-west of the country.

The Russian plant “fills a critical need in the global food and agriculture supply chain,” CEO Paul Reitz said in a conference call with analysts. “We continue to operate and follow all the sanctions that are in place” and there is “no money coming in, no money going out”.

The company does not supply the Russian government or the military, he said.

– Turkey’s Anadolu Efes launched new products in Russia, including an energy drink and a non-alcoholic beer, according to its first-quarter earnings report.