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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 agai

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 Ukraine, Russian soldiers dying, or the Russian people enduring hardships. They care about profit. It's no different than the stance on civil rights, or LGBQT+, or any other issue. If you look historically, these companies only bother to "do the right thing" once it has the potential of threatening profits. It may sound cynical, but the historical record is pretty solid.

jquery 4y ago
All international conglomerates are amoral. Some are more amoral than others.
- m000 4y ago
  Any big organization is amoral. This includes countries.
adventured 4y ago
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.
- chongli 4y ago
  Thank you. Far too often people will jump in and cry "all corporations only care about profits!" which is about as interesting a statement as "all programming languages are Turing-equivalent".
whywhywhywhy 4y ago
Always disgusted me how two faced the vocal companies like Disney and Apple were about LGBTQ+ rights in the US yet all too happy to throw the same community under the bus when Russian, Chinese and UAE profits were on the table. They're only interested in the community as a PR tool, not the actual lives of the people, it's gross.
dotancohen 4y ago
- objectivetruth 4y ago
  Fascinating to watch in real-time as somebody tries to convince us that Eastern European nations voluntarily joining NATO over 20 years was "aggression" and poor little Putin had no choice but to rain missiles and shells down on Ukrainian schools and hospitals. Good luck "debunking" your "myth," comrade!
- The_Colonel 4y ago
  Thanks for repeating Russian propaganda word for word. In reality, Ukraine was nowhere close to entering NATO. Not in 2014, not in January 2022. This wasn't (exclusively) about NATO, but about the gradual general Ukrainian drift towards the west and its institutions. Russia wouldn't be satisfied with Ukraine not entering NATO, it would require returning back into the Russian sphere of influence as its puppet state. > Russia doesn't want missiles pointed at Moscow from only 500 km away NATO membership doesn't mean US missiles on the territory. The easternmost nukes are still deployed in Italy, and the eastward expansion of NATO did not make any change in that. If NATO wanted to place missiles close to Moscow and St. Petersburg, why not do that from Latvia and Estonia? Same or even shorter distance than from Ukraine. (but NATO didn't do that and there's still not NATO base in the Baltics)
  - dotancohen 4y ago
    > Thanks for repeating Russian propaganda word for word. > In reality... So, you are completely disregarding Russia's point of view, even though they stated it clearly, and are substituting your own interpretation of events. What makes you think that you understand Russian motivations any more than Russia itself? From Russia's point of view, NATO is encroaching. How blind must one be to disregard that?
    - The_Colonel 4y ago
      Yes, I am completely disregarding Russian propaganda talking points. Remember how all the way up to February 23rd Russian Foreign Ministry maintained that the West is hysterical and obviously there won't be any invasion? > From Russia's point of view, NATO is encroaching. So again, how does Ukraine fit into that when Ukraine was nowhere near being admitted to NATO?

jquery 4y ago

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

m000 4y ago
Any big organization is amoral. This includes countries.

adventured 4y ago

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.

chongli 4y ago
Thank you. Far too often people will jump in and cry "all corporations only care about profits!" which is about as interesting a statement as "all programming languages are Turing-equivalent".

whywhywhywhy 4y ago

Always disgusted me how two faced the vocal companies like Disney and Apple were about LGBTQ+ rights in the US yet all too happy to throw the same community under the bus when Russian, Chinese and UAE profits were on the table. They're only interested in the community as a PR tool, not the actual lives of the people, it's gross.

dotancohen 4y ago

objectivetruth 4y ago
Fascinating to watch in real-time as somebody tries to convince us that Eastern European nations voluntarily joining NATO over 20 years was "aggression" and poor little Putin had no choice but to rain missiles and shells down on Ukrainian schools and hospitals. Good luck "debunking" your "myth," comrade!
The_Colonel 4y ago
Thanks for repeating Russian propaganda word for word. In reality, Ukraine was nowhere close to entering NATO. Not in 2014, not in January 2022. This wasn't (exclusively) about NATO, but about the gradual general Ukrainian drift towards the west and its institutions. Russia wouldn't be satisfied with Ukraine not entering NATO, it would require returning back into the Russian sphere of influence as its puppet state. > Russia doesn't want missiles pointed at Moscow from only 500 km away NATO membership doesn't mean US missiles on the territory. The easternmost nukes are still deployed in Italy, and the eastward expansion of NATO did not make any change in that. If NATO wanted to place missiles close to Moscow and St. Petersburg, why not do that from Latvia and Estonia? Same or even shorter distance than from Ukraine. (but NATO didn't do that and there's still not NATO base in the Baltics)
- dotancohen 4y ago
  > Thanks for repeating Russian propaganda word for word. > In reality... So, you are completely disregarding Russia's point of view, even though they stated it clearly, and are substituting your own interpretation of events. What makes you think that you understand Russian motivations any more than Russia itself? From Russia's point of view, NATO is encroaching. How blind must one be to disregard that?
  - The_Colonel 4y ago
    Yes, I am completely disregarding Russian propaganda talking points. Remember how all the way up to February 23rd Russian Foreign Ministry maintained that the West is hysterical and obviously there won't be any invasion? > From Russia's point of view, NATO is encroaching. So again, how does Ukraine fit into that when Ukraine was nowhere near being admitted to NATO?