Raytheon, Coca-Cola join halt to Russia operations

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and PayPal Holdings are temporarily halting operations in Russia, joining a lengthening list of businesses that are cutting ties with the country or suspending activities there because of the fallout over the invasion of Ukraine nearly two weeks ago.

In addition, Raytheon Technologies said in an email to The Gazette Wednesday it “is suspending all sales and support services to Russia’s civil aviation industry.”

Defense One on its website noted Raytheon units Collins Aerospace — Cedar Rapids’ largest employer — and Pratt and Whitney supply Russia’s commercial aviation sector.

Earlier this week, Defense One said, Boeing halted titanium purchases from Russia.

Titanium is used in building aircraft.

International sanctions, the closure of airspace and transports links due to the war, and the financial restrictions on SWIFT — the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication — and capital controls have made it difficult if not impossible for many companies to supply parts, make payments and deliver goods in Russia.

Added to that, the potential international consumer backlash against any company perceived as helping Vladimir Putin’s regime means that the exodus of corporations from Russia has become a stampede — from Starbucks, Ford Motor and Nike to Visa and MasterCard as well as Levi Strauss, Samsung Electronics, Heineken and Moody’s.

The rout reverses three decades of investment there by foreign businesses after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, especially in energy.

The Gazette contributed to this report.