More than 1,000 major companies pledged to leave Russia after Vladimir Putin launched his war in Ukraine, but some well-known firms stand accused by researchers of violating their pledge.
For the companies that did leave, the unprecedented corporate exodus, championed and chronicled by Yale professor Jeff Sonnenfeld, dealt a serious financial and symbolic blow to Moscow and the Russian economy.
Now, as Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine exceeds the 500-day mark, Sonnenfeld and his team are naming and shaming a slew of companies they accuse of breaking their promises to leave or at least drastically scale back their presence in Russia, including well-known companies like Heineken, Unilever, Philip Morris and Oreo-maker Mondelez.
The Yale research, shared exclusively with CNN, is based on whistleblowers, on-the-ground experts, students operating inside Russia, corporate documents and news media reports.
“These companies are breaking their promises. They are functioning as wartime profiteers,” Sonnenfeld told CNN in an interview. “It’s beyond disappointing. It’s shameful and unethical.”
“Consumers should realize that by supporting these companies, they’re endorsing something that fuels Putin’s war machine,” he added.
The “poster child” for this problem is the popular Dutch brewing giant Heineken, Sonnenfeld said.
In March 2022, just one month after the invasion of Ukraine, Heineken won praise for promising to leave Russia. However, 16 months later Heineken still has seven breweries and 1,800 employees in Russia, according to Yale. Not only that, but Heineken has since launched a series of new brands in Russia, gobbling up market share caused by the exodus of other major beer brands.
“They are not pulling out. They are doubling down,” said Steven Tian, director of research at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
In March 2022, snack and candy giant Mondelez promised to scale back “all non-essential activities in Russia while helping maintain continuity of the food supply.” Mondelez said it would focus its operation on “basic offerings.”
However, Mondelez — the company behind Oreo cookies, Triscuit crackers and Nabisco snacks, says it still employs 3,000 people in Russia.
Find out what other brands are on the list here.
