Starbucks temporarily closes its cafes in Russia

According to a press release issued on Monday, coffee giant Starbucks has left Russia and will no longer have a presence there.

The coffee company claims to have been in Russia for 15 years and has suddenly closed all of its 130 licensed cafés.

Starbucks has followed in the footsteps of McDonald’s and Exxon Mobil in entirely exiting Russia.

Starbucks says it will “help” its approximately 2,000 Russian employees, including six months’ compensation and assistance for partners transitioning to new jobs outside of Starbucks.

This follows Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson’s announcement in March that the company had halted all operations in Russia, including the distribution of all Starbucks items.