Companies across the globe are fleeing Russia in an unprecedented display of corporate solidarity with their governments, appalled over the invasion of Ukraine. Over 750 multinational businesses so far have said they’re curtailing, suspending or severing ties to Russia, more than triple the number that abandoned South Africa over apartheid in the 1980s.
Many corporate statements announcing the decisions have emphasized humanitarian aspects and unity with the Ukrainian people. For example, Pepsi suspended soda sales in Russia, describing events in Ukraine as “horrific”; Ford Motor Co. cited Russia’s “threats to peace and stability” in pausing operations at its three plants in the country; and Ikea closed its stores there and called the war a “human tragedy.”
