British American Tobacco, Shell and McDonald’s are not the most likely line-up of corporate do-gooders but they can all claim superiority to Unilever in one area – each of these businesses swiftly divested from Russia in the months following the invasion of Ukraine.
A year and a half on, Unilever remains one of a few Western multinationals to continue operating in the country. Despite much criticism, the consumer goods giant, which owns brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Hellmann’s and PG Tips, still employs 3,000 people in Russia.
After months of criticism, and even being labelled an “international sponsor of war”, Unilever has failed to change its stance – it even appeared to double down when confirming that it would allow its Russian workers to be conscripted, if called upon by the army. But it appears that a letter may have finally changed the company’s mind on the matter.