McDonald’s (MCD-US) will reopen restaurants in Ukraine in the coming months, a symbol of a return to some normalcy in the war-torn country and a show of support after the U.S. fast-food chain pulled out of Russia.
The burger giant closed its Ukrainian restaurants after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly six months ago, but continues to pay more than 10,000 McDonald’s workers in the country.
McDonald’s said on Thursday (11th) that it would begin gradually reopening some restaurants in the capital Kyiv and western Ukraine, like other companies operating in these places far from the war. Western businesses such as Spanish clothing retailers Zara and Mango are still operating in Kyiv.
“We have had extensive conversations with employees who have expressed a strong desire to return to work and to reopen our Ukrainian restaurants,” Paul Pomroy, McDonald’s senior vice president of international operations marketing, said in a letter to employees. “The belief that this will support a small but important sense of normalcy has grown stronger in recent months.”
The Ukrainian economy has been devastated by the war, so any business restarting operations, even with limited capacity, would help. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Ukraine’s economy to shrink by 35% this year.
McDonald’s, which has 109 restaurants in Ukraine, did not say on Thursday how many would reopen, when they would reopen or which locations would be the first to welcome customers back. Over the next few months, the company said it would begin working with suppliers to deliver supplies to restaurants, prepare those stores, bring employees back and initiate safety procedures as war rages in the east.