Heineken joins companies exiting Russia

Heineken is exiting Russia, saying it is “shocked and deeply saddened” to see Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine intensify more than a month after it was launched.

In a statement on Monday, the Dutch brewing company said it is leaving Russia because ownership of business in the country “is no longer sustainable nor viable in the current environment.”

Heineken said it came to this determination after a strategic review of operations. The company will continue to reduce operations as it transitions ownership.

“We aim for an orderly transfer of our business to a new owner in full compliance with international and local laws,” the company wrote. “To ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our employees and to minimise the risk of nationalisation, we concluded that it is essential that we continue with the recently reduced operations during this transition period.”

Heineken said it will not profit from the transfer of ownership, but noted that the exit will likely cost the company about 400 million euros.

“We will not profit from any transfer of ownership and we expect an impairment and other non-cash exceptional charges of approximately €0.4 billion in total,” the company said.

Once the transfer is complete, Heineken said it will “no longer have a presence in Russia.”

“We continue to hope that a path to a peaceful outcome emerges in the near term,” the company added.

Heineken earlier this month announced that it was stopping the production, advertisement and sale of its products in Russia, citing “the tragedy in Russia.” The company said it stood with the Ukrainian people, and condemned Russia’s “unprovoked and completely unjustified attack.”

Heineken on Monday again condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writing that the company is “shocked and deeply saddened to watch the war in Ukraine continue to unfold and intensify.”

Heineken is one of a number of companies that have announced plans to exit Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. Adidas has said it will suspend sales in Russia, Shell is leaving its joint enterprises with Russian natural gas company Gazprom, and Western Union is ending operations in Russia, The New York Times noted.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its second month last week. The conflict began in late February when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine.