Customers Are Calling For A Boycott, But Subway Has Other Plans As It Continues Operating In Russia

While several companies have pulled their operations out of Russia amid the attacks on Ukraine, some chains are continuing to operate in the country, despite mounting pressure from their customers.

One such chain is Subway, which is continuing to keep its 450 sandwich shops open even as its customers call for a boycott of its restaurants on social media.

Customers on Twitter criticized the chain for keeping its stores open, saying “I thought Subway was better than this” and “It’s so disappointing.”

Others said, “I will never go there again,” and “It’s easy to eat somewhere else,” using the hashtag #BoycottSubway, which was gaining traction on Twitter.

However, Subway defended its decision to stay open in Russia in a statement.

The company explained that it has no corporate restaurants in Russia and that its roughly 450 locations are all “independently owned and operated by local franchisees and managed by an independent master franchisee.”

It continued by saying, “We don’t directly control these independent franchisees and their restaurants, and have limited insight into their day-to-day operations.”

However, Subway did say it will “redirect any profits from operations in Russia to humanitarian efforts supporting Ukrainians who have been affected by the war.”

The chain is also providing meals to refugees across Europe through its franchisees, it said.

Since the attacks began on Ukraine in late February, more than 200 Western businesses have exited Russia, including McDonald’s which announced early last week it was closing its 850 restaurants in the country. The McDonald’s locations in Russia are mostly corporate-owned.

President Vladimir Putin has threatened those companies that have exited Russia that he will “bring in outside management and then transfer these companies to those who want to work,” Russian state media has reported.