Ukraine: ‘Mac is back’: McDonald’s plans ‘phased’ reopening in war-ravaged country
- The US burger chain has said it will resume trading in ‘some restaurants in Kyiv and Western Ukraine, where other businesses have safely reopened’
- The company suspended operations in Ukraine in February after Russia invaded but continued to pay salaries of about 10,000 employees, a senior executive said
McDonald’s announced plans on Thursday for a “phased” partial reopening of its outlets in Ukraine, where operations have been closed since February due to the Russian invasion.
The US burger chain will “reopen some restaurants in Kyiv and Western Ukraine, where other businesses have safely reopened”, Paul Pomroy, senior vice-president for international operated markets, said in a message to employees.
Pomroy cited requests from the company’s Ukrainian employees for the relaunch to signify “a small but important sense of normalcy” in the besieged country.
McDonald’s suspended its operations in Ukraine on February 24 following the Russian siege of the country. The company has continued to pay salaries of more than 10,000 employees since then, Pomroy said.
“Over the next few months, we will begin working with suppliers to get product to restaurants, making the physical properties ready to serve customers, bringing restaurant teams and employees back on site, and implementing enhanced procedures and protocols to support the safety of our people and customers,” Pomroy said.
The announcement was applauded by Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, who acknowledged that the actual reopening “will take a while”, in a message on Facebook.