Nordic furniture retailer Ikea has joined other large European and American businesses to stop their operations in Russia and Belarus over the war against Ukraine, Swedish news portal TheLocal.se reports.
The decision announced on Thursday, March 3, is significant as it affects close to 15,000 employees, 17 stores and three production sites. «The war has had a huge human impact already. It is also resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions. For all of these reasons, Ikea has decided to temporarily pause operations in Russia,» the company said in a statement to AFP.
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Boeing, Nike, Apple, Mango, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and many others have announced stopping operations or market presence in Russia.
Coca Cola has decided to stay, however. According to Russian state news agency TASS, Coca-Cola HBC Russia owns 10 plants for the production of soft drinks and juices in such cities as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Rostov region, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Vladivostok. It stated on Thursday, March 3, that it would continue operations in Russia.