Yum! Brands announced Tuesday that it will fully leave Russia, as the invasion of Ukraine continues.
In June, the company transferred ownership of all Pizza Hut franchise assets to a local operator that will rebrand the stores. Yum! is also in advanced talks to transfer ownership of its KFC restaurants, operating system, and master franchise rights. Once that transaction is complete, the company will fully exit Russia.
In March, Yum! suspended operations of all corporately owned restaurants and halted investment and development efforts. Russia is home to roughly 1,000 KFC and 50 Pizza Hut units, most of which are under license or franchise agreements with independent owners. At that time, the company redirected all profits from Russia to humanitarian efforts and donated $1 million to the Red Cross. Yum! also used its disaster relief fund to support Ukrainian franchise employees and matched worker donations to UNICEF, Red Cross, World Food Programme, and International Rescue Committee.