Burger King Follows McDonald’s Lead, Pulls Out Of Russia Amid Backlash

Burger King’s parent company Restaurant Brands International (QSR) announced on Thursday that it was suspending all of its corporate support for 800-plus franchise restaurants located in the Russian market.

The company said it has no corporate restaurants located in the country.

The suspension of support would include all operation, marketing, and supply chain as well as approval for investment and expansion.

Burger King is the latest business to announce that it is pulling out of Russia after receiving criticism on social media for continuing its operations amid the attacks on Ukraine.

Customers on Twitter called for a boycott of the burger chain, with some users saying, “until you do the decent thing and get out of Russia I will never buy from you again.”

In a statement, RBI said it was “committed to redirecting any profits from franchised operations to humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees.”

McDonald’s also faced a boycott from customers on social media for continuing operations in Russia. The chain has nearly 850 restaurants in the country, CNBC reported.

McDonald’s announced on Tuesday that it was closing its restaurants in Russia amid the war with Ukraine.

The company said the decision to temporarily close locations in Russia would cost it an estimated $50 million per month, according to CNBC.

Starbucks, Papa John’s, and Yum Brands, which has corporate-owned KFC and franchised-operated Pizza Hut locations in Russia, also announced that they were ceasing operations in the country due to the continued attacks on Ukraine.

Burger King has made a $1 million donation to UNHCR in support of Ukrainian refugees, and Burger King franchisees in more than 25 European countries have partnered up with NGOs to distribute free Whopper meal vouchers to Ukrainian refugees.

As of Thursday at 1:42 p.m. EST, shares of RBI were trading at $57.26, down 5 cents, or 0.09%.