People are stand queue to McDonald’s in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on 29 May, 2020.
STR | Nurphoto | Getty Images
McDonald’s said Thursday that it is planning a phased reopening of some of its restaurants in Ukraine, where the company noted other businesses are safely operating.
The fast-food company said in a message posted to its website that it will work over the next few months to get product back to the restaurants, bring back employees and physically prepare its locations in Kyiv and western Ukraine to start serving customers again.
McDonald’s had announced in February that it would pause its operations in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of the country. Before that, McDonald’s had 109 restaurants in Ukraine. The chain declined to comment on how many restaurants will be opening as part of its plan to resume operations in the country.
“We’ve spoken extensively to our employees who have expressed a strong desire to return to work and see our restaurants in Ukraine reopen, where it is safe and responsible to do so,” Paul Pomroy, the corporate senior vice president of international operated markets, said in the message posted online. “In recent months, the belief that this would support a small but important sense of normalcy has grown stronger.”
In addition to establishing an employee relief fund several months ago, McDonald’s said it continued to pay the salaries of more than 10,000 Ukrainian employees.
In Russia, meanwhile, McDonald’s sold its businesses to an existing licensee in May after previously pausing operations in the country.