Diageo to wind down Russia operations by year-end

• Author: Richa Naidu
• Published date: 29 June 2022
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

"Our focus will remain on supporting our employees in the region and providing them with enhanced redundancy terms, while ensuring we comply with local regulations," a Diageo spokesperson said in a statement

Foreign companies seeking to exit Russia over the war in Ukraine face the prospect of a law being passed in the coming weeks to allow Moscow to seize assets and impose criminal penalties. That has encouraged some businesses to accelerate their departure.

Nike and Cisco announced plans to leave last Thursday.

Michelin plans to hand over its Russian activities to a new entity under local management by the end of the year, it said on Tuesday, becoming the first Western tyre-maker to withdraw from business in Russia.

However, Diageo, which stopped shipping to and selling goods in Russia in March, will retain a business licence there that requires a number of employees to remain, a source said...