By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL- On Thursday, in new developments on the Russian business front, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. announced it’s shutting down its operations in Russia, the first major Wall Street bank to cut ties with Russia. The company told Insider that the move was “in compliance with licensing and regulatory requirements.” While Russia is only a small portion of the bank’s business-, coordinated financial sanctions by the US, the EU and the UK as well as other countries are making doing business in Russia increasingly difficult especially with the Russian ruble’s extreme devaluation since the Ukraine invasion.
Meanwhile, fast food giant McDonald’s is also making its exit from Russia as well as Starbucks Pepsico and Coca-Cola. McDonald’s and Starbucks are shutting their restaurants and cafes in Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decisions were made following backlash from critics and similar moves made by Western companies. McDonald’s and Pepsico were being boycotted online with hashtags targeting their companies. Russia has been a huge market for McDonald’s because McDonald’s has been operating in Russia for 30 years, operating in 850 communities. Starbucks is suspending its business operations in Russia, the company said in a statement.
In a statement on Tuesday, Pepsico CEO Ramon Laguarta said: “Given the horrific events occurring in Ukraine, we are announcing the suspension of the sale of Pepsi-cola and our global beverage brands in Russia, including 7-UP and Mirinda.”
