Companies
05/01/2024

CEO Of McDonald's Claims Fighting Has Affected Numerous Middle Eastern Markets




Chris Kempczinski, the CEO of McDonald's, stated that the Israel-Hamas war and "associated misinformation" about the brand were having a "meaningful business impact" on a number of Middle Eastern and international markets.
 
Mostly unplanned, grassroots boycott movements against major Western fast-food chains, such as McDonald's and Starbucks, have been launched in response to the companies' alleged financial ties to Israel and perceived pro-Israeli position.
 
The false information spread about companies such as McDonald's, according to Kempczinski, is "disheartening and ill-founded."
 
"In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald's is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens," Kempczinski said in a LinkedIn post.
 
McDonald's Israel announced on social media in October that it had provided hundreds of Israel Defence Forces members with complimentary lunches.
 
Later, McDonald's restaurants in a few Muslim nations repudiated this, underscoring the divisive regional politics that multinational firms traverse in times of conflict.
 
A number of Western companies are being negatively impacted by boycotts that began in Egypt and Jordan and have now spread to other non-Arab nations, such as Malaysia, which has a majority of Muslims.
 
On October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed almost 1,200 Israelis. Since then, 22,438 people had died in Gaza as a result of Israeli shelling as of Thursday.
 
The corporation operated and franchised over 40,275 McDonald's restaurants in over 100 countries as of the fiscal year 2022. The fast-food restaurant chain declared $23.18 billion in total sales for the year.
 
The company's shares saw a slight decrease during afternoon trade.
 
(Source:www.news18.com) 

Christopher J. Mitchell
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