Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo suspend operations in Russia; Amazon suspends web services sign-ups
Companies continue to pull out of Russia over Putin's invasion of Ukraine
Former Minister of National Defense of Poland Radek Sikorski argues the ‘most urgent task’ is to prevent Putin from ‘winning’ Russia-Ukraine war.
Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Amazon have joined the growing list of companies imposing their own punishments on Russia over Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine.
In a statement on its website on Monday, Coca-Cola announced it was suspending its business in Russia saying, "Our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine" and the beverage giant "We will continue to monitor and assess the situation as circumstances evolve."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KO | THE COCA-COLA CO. | 61.86 | +0.12 | +0.19% |
Starbucks followed suit on Tuesday, with president and CEO Kevin Johnson writing in a public letter to employees, "Today, we have decided to suspend all business activity in Russia, including shipment of all Starbucks products."
MCDONALD'S PAUSING RUSSIA OPERATIONS, TEMPORARILY CLOSING RESTAURANTS
The company added, "Our licensed partner has agreed to immediately pause store operations and will provide support to the nearly 2,000 partners in Russia who depend on Starbucks for their livelihood."
Starbucks has suspended all business in Russia (iStock) (iStock / iStock)
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBUX | STARBUCKS CORP. | 100.40 | +1.98 | +2.01% |
Amazon Web Services also announced Tuesday that it has "stopped allowing new sign-ups for AWS" in either Russia or Belarus, which joined Putin's assault on Ukraine.
ESTEE LAUDER CLOSING ALL OF ITS RUSSIA STORES
"Unlike other U.S. technology providers, AWS has no data centers, infrastructure, or offices in Russia, and we have a long-standing policy of not doing business with the Russian government," the company noted in a blog post.
The logo for Amazon Web Services (AWS) (REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo) (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 201.70 | -0.91 | -0.45% |
"Our biggest customers using AWS in Russia are companies who are headquartered outside of the country and have some development teams there," the post explained. "AWS has clear terms of service where if a customer is using AWS services to threaten, incite, promote, or actively encourage violence, terrorism, or other serious harm, they will not be permitted to use our services. Any customer we know of who is participating in this type of behavior will have their access to AWS suspended."
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U.S. firms have increasingly imposed their own punishments on Russia amid worldwide outrage over Putin's invasion of Ukraine, adding to the crippling sanctions imposed on Russia by America and its allies over the attack.
But some companies have faced pressure of their own to pull out of Russia. In recent days, the hashtag #BoycottCocaCola began trending on Twitter as users called on the company to pull its products from the country.
Pepsico later announced that it, too, would suspend the sale of its products in Russia, according to Reuters.