Lego halts commercial operations in Russia indefinitely due to 'extensive disruption'

Lego halts commercial operations in Russia indefinitely due to ‘extensive disruption’

Jul 12, 2022

Lego is stopping its commercial operations in Russia, having paused shipments to the country back in March.

The Danish toymaker confirmed to Sky News that it was “indefinitely ceasing commercial operations in Russia, given the continued extensive disruption in the operating environment”.

A spokesperson said: “This includes ending employment for most of our Moscow-based team and our partnership with Inventive Retail Group who owned and operated 81 stores on the brand’s behalf.”

Some 90 Moscow workers will be laid off, according to Reuters.

Lego Russia chief executive Evgeny Chikhachev also confirmed the move to the Russian version of Inc. Magazine on Tuesday.

Inventive Retail Group (IRG) operates stores for a number of foreign companies in Russia.

A spokesperson for the company said on Tuesday: “Our company will continue to work as an expert in the toy design and development category.”

Lego paused shipments to Russia in March, and said last month that it was temporarily freezing operations in some shops due to supply problems.

It is among a number of Western companies to have pulled out of Russia or severely limited operations since the country’s military invaded Ukraine in late-February.

Others include Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Samsung, Warner Bros, and accounting firms Deloitte, KPMG, EY and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

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