Starbucks is leaving Russia, permanently closing 130 coffee shops

Starbucks announced Monday that it will exit the Russian market, joining such corporate giants as Mcdonald’s, Exxonmobil and Netflix in pulling out of the country over its invasion of Ukraine.

The coffee giant has 130 shops in Russia, which account for less than 1 percent of its annual revenue, according to CNBC.

The Seattle-based chain had closed those locations in March, which are run by franchisees, after the invasion but left open the possibility of reopening them. But nearly three months later, Starbucks announced Monday it had “made the decision to exit and no longer have a brand presence in the market,” according to an update posted on its website.

Starbucks said it will pay its 2,000 Russian employees for six months and help them find new work outside the company.

Food retailers have had difficulty fully extricating themselves from the country. Many quick-service restaurants, such as KFC and Pizza Hut, are run by franchisees, limiting a corporation’s ability to control local operations.

Mcdonald’s last week found a buyer for its 850 Russian restaurants. Alexander Govor, a Siberian franchisee, will operate them under a new brand, and agreed to retain Mcdonald’s employees for at least two years.

Other food producers, such as Pepsico, Nestlé and Mondelez, have cut off sales of lifestyle items like such as sodas, snacks and candy but continued the sale sales of staple goods like such as dairy items products and baby formula. But even those moves have limited effects: Local retailers with certain items already in stock can continue selling them.