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McDonald’s said it plans to soon start a phased reopening of some of its restaurants in Kyiv and western Ukraine even as the war with Russia continues.
Why it matters: The fast-food chain, which announced in February that it would pause its operations in Ukraine because of the ongoing war, said Thursday that reopening could “support a small but important sense of normalcy.”
- McDonald's said it has continued to pay the 10,000 employees in Ukraine while restaurants have been closed.
- The company said other restaurants have "safely reopened" in Ukraine.
What they're saying: "We’ve spoken extensively to our employees who have expressed a strong desire to return to work and see our restaurants in Ukraine reopen, where it is safe and responsible to do so," Paul Pomroy, corporate senior vice president of international operated markets, said in a message to employees that was posted on McDonald's website Thursday.
- "In recent months, the belief that this would support a small but important sense of normalcy has grown stronger."
- “Over the next few months, we will begin working with suppliers to get product to restaurants, making the physical properties ready to serve customers, bringing restaurant teams and employees back on site,” Pomroy said.
Meanwhile, McDonald's closed its stores in Russia in March and then sold its Russian business, noting that "continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values."
- McDonald's Russian business was sold to Alexander Govor, who began opening McDonald's in Russia seven years ago, Axios' Dan Primack reported.
- The rebranded Russian restaurants started reopening in June and are called Vkusno i Tochka (Tasty and that's it).