The Finnish fast food chain Hesburger plans to close all its stores in Russia during April, the company announced in a press release issued on Monday.
The Turku-based company said it had sent notifications to its local entrepreneurs in Russia stating that they would have to close down immediately.
The Russian attack on Ukraine, the burger company, announced in early March its plans to withdraw from the country.
As the month progressed, however, many Finns criticized the timeline of the fast food chain as too slow on social media. At the end of March, the company had managed to close only one of its offices in Russia, but announced plans to close them all as soon as possible.
On Monday, nearly two weeks later, the company explained the slow downtime schedule due to concerns about staff safety and the legal challenges it faced.
The company also has seven offices in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, but they are currently closed, according to the CEO of Hesburger. Kari Salmela.
"According to our information, all our Ukrainian employees are alive. Our restaurants have not suffered from battles. We will not open the restaurant until it is completely safe for all employees and customers. We will continue to pay full pay to all local employees. Our thoughts are with the brave Ukrainians and we hope from the bottom of our hearts that peace will return to the country," Salmela said in a statement.
Source: The Nordic Page