Many U.S. companies have halted business with Russia due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and sanctions imposed against the country, but some continue to do business, researchers at Yale University found.
Those leaving Russia entirely include Uber, eBay, British Petroleum and Shell, a move costing billions of dollars, research lead Jeffrey Sonnenfeld told Jim Braude on Greater Boston.
"I think some of it is they recognize they've been on the wrong side of history ... and wanted to find this opportunity to do it right," said Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management.
Steven Tian, research director at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, said, "These companies are obviously very, very responsive to public opinion." He pointed to the finding that 75% of Americans have said that U.S. companies should not be doing business in Russia.
Some companies that are currently suspending activity in Russia include McDonald's, Starbucks, Levi's, Mastercard and Visa. Others are scaling back, such as Bacardi, Kellogg, John Deere and Goldman Sachs, while some corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and Colgate-Palmolive are halting new investments but continuing current activity.
But still other companies, including International Papers, ASUS and Koch Industries, are staying the course in Russia.
"All of these companies hide under the excuse that they're looking after their employees, that they cannot leave or else their facilities would be nationalized," Tian said.
Watch: Corporations faced with cutting ties to Russia
