Russia and Ukraine

[Artoo]

McDonalds don't always have the best rep, but in recent years they do seem to strive to do good, and I think this is a better result than we could have even expected. Coca Cola, Starbucks and Shell have all made announcements too, these are massive names pulling out of Russia.

Agreed. We aren’t talking insignificant numbers - an annual gross of $2bn is a huge amount of business to just shut down on a matter of principle. Yes there’s been pressure on McDonalds and others to do so, and no, I don’t think McDonalds being closed will make Russians want to overthrow Putin, but small reasons soon add up.

[SholasBoy]

Agreed. We aren’t talking insignificant numbers - an annual gross of $2bn is a huge amount of business to just shut down on a matter of principle. Yes there’s been pressure on McDonalds and others to do so, and no, I don’t think McDonalds being closed will make Russians want to overthrow Putin, but small reasons soon add up.

I remember those early weeks of lockdown when McDonalds were all closed here, it was dark days for me

[Artoo]

I remember those early weeks of lockdown when McDonalds were all closed here, it was dark days for me

I may or may not be eating a salted caramel McFlurry right now

[Rihab]

So McDonalds will close 850 restaurants in Russia and continue to pay all staff in full. Apparently McDonalds owns most of its Russian restaurants (84%) so very little franchise issues. But Russia and Ukraine bring in revenue of $2bn annually so will be interesting to see exactly how long this lasts.

Oh wow.

Off-topic, but this reminds me of how my ex had planned to quit his job at McDonalds for months. And the night before he was going to do it, the entire restaurant burned down and all stuff continued to get paid for more than a year.

[theMathematician]

I remember those early weeks of lockdown when McDonalds were all closed here, it was dark days for me

Was drive through not possible during that time in your country?

[SholasBoy]

For some weeks no, I guess because they were worried about workers being close together

[Rihab]

I may or may not be eating a salted caramel McFlurry right now

blueberry mcflurry >

[jordi_89]

Oh wow.

Off-topic, but this reminds me of how my ex had planned to quit his job at McDonalds for months. And the night before he was going to do it, the entire restaurant burned down and all stuff continued to get paid for more than a year.

Did your ex burn the place?

[Artoo]

Apparently it’s 62,000 members of staff. How in the hell can 850 restaurants use 70+ members of staff each?

[Rihab]

Did your ex burn the place?

I mean I wouldn't put it past him, but we'll never know.

[SholasBoy]

Apparently it’s 62,000 members of staff. How in the hell can 850 restaurants use 70+ members of staff each?

Well there will also be delivery staff, manufacture, office staff etc..but it still seems high to me.

[Rihab]

So Poland is handing its Soviet fighter jets to the US via Germany, who will then give them to Ukraine. This is about to get messy.

[Artoo]

Well there will also be delivery staff, manufacture, office staff etc..but it still seems high to me.

That is true. But even if they had 10,000 non-restaurant based staff (unlikely?) that’s still 60+ members of staff per restaurant, which is incredibly high when you can go to an actual restaurant with next to no staff in comparison.

[theMathematician]

SholasBoy : OK, thanks for telling me. Drive throughs were never closed here.

[Ewokguy15]

That is true. But even if they had 10,000 non-restaurant based staff (unlikely?) that’s still 60+ members of staff per restaurant, which is incredibly high when you can go to an actual restaurant with next to no staff in comparison.

You gotta think, most Mcdonalds are 24/7, managers, shift supervisors, regular staff, mccafe, 60 per store sounds about right.

Regular restaurants also don't give you your food in 2-3 mins.

[theMathematician]

In my country, shops aren't allowed to be open 24/7 as it needs to be secured that there's enough time for cleaning. So let's say MC Donalds is open 20 hours per day and every worker works 40 hours per week there (There will probably be part time workers such as college students or mothers as well, but to make it easier to count...). That would be a total of 140 hours per week and dividing that by 40 hours for each full time worker would result in 3.5 shifts. 60 divided by 3.5 means about 17 people per shift per shop.
Assuming there are also part time workers, that number would likely be higher, like 20-25. That's what I doubt, but maybe that includes people working for MC Donalds but not as part of the restaurants (e.g. people working at the national headquarters or ones being involved in their logistics processes).

[InFamous]

You gotta think, most Mcdonalds are 24/7, managers, shift supervisors, regular staff, mccafe, 60 per store sounds about right.

Regular restaurants also don't give you your food in 2-3 mins.

Any time in go to McDonald's which is rare there are at least fifteen people working between behind the counter/ on the floor.

[InFamous]

In my country, shops aren't allowed to be open 24/7 as it needs to be secured that there's enough time for cleaning.

That is not true. Loads of the mcdonalds in Berlin are 24 hours.

[Ewokguy15]

In my country, shops aren't allowed to be open 24/7 as it needs to be secured that there's enough time for cleaning. So let's say MC Donalds is open 20 hours per day and every worker works 40 hours per week there (There will probably be part time workers such as college students or mothers as well, but to make it easier to count...). That would be a total of 140 hours per week and dividing that by 40 hours for each full time worker would result in 3.5 shifts. 60 divided by 3.5 means about 17 people per shift per shop.
Assuming there are also part time workers, that number would likely be higher, like 20-25. That's what I doubt, but maybe that includes people working for MC Donalds but not as part of the restaurants (e.g. people working at the national headquarters or ones being involved in their logistics processes).

I worked at Mcdonalds when I was younger, Burger King as well, those numbers are 100% possible, especially for the bigger ones.

[ferrero]

Finally. Now we just need the EU to do the same (but like for real and no buying it on discount).

Contrary, EU has wake up and realize that they need to steer clear of US, make their own decisions in dealing with Russia.

[LittleLinda]

Also screaming at them only getting 200$ a month to go die in a foreign country thousands of km away

I bet Putler wont even pay the travel costs

Actually, the article only says 200 without specifying. My first thought was: Is that for the whole six months, or per hour/day/week/month?

[theMathematician]

The USA stopped energy imports from Russia. They only get 7% of their energetic ressources from Russia, but since the US is a big country, it should still be a major financial loss for Russia.
Germany is in a much more difficult situation. Trump mentioned in a speech 3 years ago that Germany's energetic dependency on Russia will become a problem one day. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs would literally laugh at that (There is a video where you can see that.), and the former Chancellor would deny that. 3 years later, it's come true. 55% of the gas and 30% of the oil come from Russia. Those high shares have led to rapid price increases for energetic ressources, irrespective of transporting or heating purposes. The price of 1 liter diesel has increased by 50 cent (= +33%) to more than 2€ over the course of a week. Germans love their cars more than everything, so let's see how long they will keep sitting and waiting for something to happen.

What's the Russian's sensitive spot?

[KEY9481]

[ferrero]

its about diversification. There's always risk if one is heavily dependent on a single source. Just like many countries are beginning to realise that how the West is using the Dollar and SWIFT as a weapon to punish those who doesn't succumb to their demands or align to their views.

[bm08]

Oh wow.

Off-topic, but this reminds me of how my ex had planned to quit his job at McDonalds for months. And the night before he was going to do it, the entire restaurant burned down and all stuff continued to get paid for more than a year.

That's a twist I didnt see coming

[bm08]

From the music POV

Billboard: For Russia’s Stalled Music Industry, There’s No ‘Precedent’ for Global Clampdown
https://www.billboard.com/pro/russia...obal-clampdown

Russia was once one of music's most promising emerging markets — until Ukraine invasion sent streamers, labels and promoters scrambling.

The prospects for once-burgeoning Russia to be a prominent player in the growth of the global music industry are drying up quickly.

A shutdown by Visa and Mastercard of payment services in Russia combined with an anti-censorship push by Spotify, YouTube and TikTok have effectively shut off the taps for revenue from advertising and subscriptions from music streaming. And on Tuesday (March 8), Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s largest music company, said it was “suspending all operations in Russia” and closing its offices there.

The crisis among music companies accelerated over the weekend when the credit card companies said they would no longer process payments from Russian customers as part of their support for Western economic sanctions imposed against Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

As a result of the credit-card shutdown, Spotify is no longer running advertising in Russia, a source at a streaming platform tells Billboard. The news follows decisions by Netflix and TikTok over the weekend to pull back from Russia amid an anti-fake news crackdown by streaming platforms. Last week YouTube and TikTok banned content from Russian state-sponsored news outlets RT and Sputnik, with Spotify soon following suit.

While YouTube and TikTok have shut down most of their Russian operations, Spotify’s service was still functioning in the country as of Tuesday (March 8), with its news podcast content — which includes verified news sources like BBC, CNN and Le Monde — providing potentially valuable information for Russian citizens about the conflict. (BBC said Friday that it had shut down most of its news operation in the country.)

Amid escalating military action, Russia enacted a law on Friday that criminalizes dissemination of “false information” about the military invasion of Ukraine, a European democracy of 44 million people, which Vladimir Putin’s government has described as “a special military operation.” Violators can be jailed for up to 15 years.

TikTok, a Chinese-owned video app, said on Twitter on Sunday that it was suspending live-streaming and new content for its video service in Russia as it reviews the “safety implications” of Russia’s law.

Meanwhile, the major record labels — Universal Music Group Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group — were dealing with cratering sales in Russia and logistical challenges brought on by sanctions that are making it challenging to pay artists and employees there. The companies are supporting employees in Russia while assisting humanitarian air efforts for Ukrainian refugees who are fleeing the escalating military conflict. And Western artists are continuing to cancel live shows as promoter Live Nation says it’s pulling out of the country altogether.

Spotify said on Wednesday that it had closed its Russia office “indefinitely” and was providing individual support to its people in the region “as well as our global community of Ukrainian employees.” The DSP launched in Russia and Ukraine in 2020, along with 11 other emerging markets in Europe. (A Spotify spokesperson declined to comment further on whether individual employees had been terminated.)

Russia, the world’s 16th-largest music market, saw its revenues grow by 30% in 2020 to $199.2 million and, along with China, logged the fastest growth of users of subscription streaming services across the top 10 markets for subscribers, according to IFPI’s “Global Music Report.”

Only a month ago, the Swedish streamer was enduring widespread criticism for its support of Joe Rogan’s podcast, despite Rogan’s promotion of conspiracy theorists and use of “racially insensitive language.” But Spotify’s growing podcast offerings from traditional news sources are lending a hand in helping battle Russian disinformation.

The streaming platform said it had launched a “global guide” on the Spotify platform to provide “trusted news” to users around the world. “It’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to allow for the global flow of information,” Spotify said in its statement. The hub includes podcasts for daily news, news from around the world and a “Ukraine Explained” tab.

On Friday, Spotify said it was mobilizing its Artist Fundraising Pick feature in Spotify for Artists to help raise funds to support humanitarian efforts. The feature allows artists to select a fundraising destination to place at the top of their Spotify profile to collect donations from listeners. The DSP has said it would match donations “two to one” to support local humanitarian efforts. “We are exploring additional steps that we can take and will continue to do what is in the best interest of our employees and our listeners,” Spotify said in a statement.

The moves come as credit card providers effectively canceled Russia. Visa said in a statement that it would “work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.” Mastercard and American Express also said they would suspend all operations in Russia. PayPal also said Saturday that it had shut down services in Russia but that it would support withdrawals “for a period of time.”

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