---
title: "McDonald’s temporarily pauses operations and shuts restaurants in Russia"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/5ce581f5-0611-49a3-9159-500ee560e05f
source: "Global Franchise"
original_url: https://www.global-franchise.com/news/mcdonalds-temporarily-pauses-operations-and-shuts-restaurants-in-russia
author: "Raghav Patel"
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Operations"]
published: 2022-03-09T09:54:37.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T16:11:52.346Z
image: https://cdn.global-franchise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/shutterstock_204036808-1.jpg
---

# McDonald’s temporarily pauses operations and shuts restaurants in Russia

**TL;DR:** McDonald's is temporarily closing all units in Russia and pausing operations due to the conflict in Ukraine. The brand will continue to support its Russian employees and plans to re-enter the market when the situation improves.

*By Raghav Patel, originally published in Global Franchise on 2022-03-09. [Read the original](https://www.global-franchise.com/news/mcdonalds-temporarily-pauses-operations-and-shuts-restaurants-in-russia).*

## Story

In a letter from CEO Chris Kempczinski to McDonald’s employees and franchisees, the fast-food brand announced its intentions to temporarily close down all units in Russia and pause all operations.

“The conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Europe has caused unspeakable suffering to innocent people. As a system, we join the world in condemning aggression and violence and praying for peace,” said Kempczinski.

McDonald’s has also upped its support for all of its Ukrainian employees, and is continuing to pay full salaries as well as donating $5m to the employee relief fund. The brand’s charity, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RHMC) Poland Care Mobile is on the Polish-Ukrainian border to provide medical and humanitarian aid to families and children.

The brand employs over 82,000 people in Russia and has a footprint of 850 stores across the country, and has said that “our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine.” In consultation with the chairman, Rick Hernandez and the rest of the board, the decision was taken to suspend operations in Russia for the time being.

“Working closely in consultation with our chairman, Rick Hernandez, and the rest of McDonald’s board of directors over the last week, McDonald’s has decided to temporarily close all our restaurants in Russia and pause all operations in the market,” said Kempczinski.

“We understand the impact this will have on our Russian colleagues and partners, which is why we are prepared to support all three legs of the stool in Ukraine and Russia. This includes salary continuation for all McDonald’s employees in Russia.”

However, McDonald’s will continue to support its Russian employees, who can continue to receive their salary. While the brand has made a strong stance on the conflict, it very much plans to re-enter Russia and begin operations again when the situation has cooled down. McDonald’s is also expecting some disruption to its supply and operational chain when it does resume operations once more.

## Entities

- Restaurants (sector)
- Global Franchise (publication)
- McDonald's (company)
- Raghav Patel (person)
- Chris Kempczinski (person)
- Russia (location)
- Ukraine (location)
- employee support (topic)
- qsr operations (topic)
- russia expansion (topic)
- ukraine conflict (topic)

---
Originally reported by Raghav Patel, Global Franchise (https://www.global-franchise.com/news/mcdonalds-temporarily-pauses-operations-and-shuts-restaurants-in-russia). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5ce581f5-0611-49a3-9159-500ee560e05f).