Nestle, tobacco groups, gamemaker Sony join move away from Russia

March 9 (Reuters) – Nestle (NESN.S), Philip Morris (PM.N) and video gamemaker Sony (6758.T) joined the list of multinationals stepping back from Russia on Wednesday as pressure mounts from consumers in the West to take a stand against the invasion of Ukraine.

Nestle, the world’s biggest packaged foods group, and Mondeleze International, followed actions by rivals Procter & Gamble (PG.N) and Unilever (ULVR.L) in halting investment in Russia.

But the four companies will continue providing essentials, with Mondelez aiming to help to maintain “continuity” of the Russian food supply.

Similarly, while cigarette maker Imperial Brands (IMB.L) suspended operations in Russia, rival Philip Morris only said it would scale down manufacturing, and Camel maker British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L) said its business in Russia continued to operate, even though it had suspended capital investment.

Sony, whose movie studio has already stopped releases in Russia, took additional action on Wednesday, saying its PlayStation gaming unit would stop shipments and operations in Russia. “Sony Interactive Entertainment joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine,” it said.

Many businesses face difficulty working in Russia due to sanctions and a lack of shipping, in addition to pressure from consumers and investors, and describe ending work in Russia in more practical terms, without blaming the Russian government for attacking Ukraine.

Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co (DE.N), saying it was “deeply saddened by the significant escalation of events in Ukraine,” announced it had ended shipments to Russia two weeks ago, and subsequently to Belarus, and said it would follow U.S. and international sanctions. Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) said it was suspending business as supply chain disruptions and sanctions made business difficult and 3M (MMM.N) followed suit after reassessing its business in Russia.

Still, pressure in the West is building.

A Rio Tinto (RIO.L) executive early in the day said the miner was working to maintain supplies of Russian fuel to its Mongolian copper mine, but the company later announced it was terminating all commercial relationships with Russian businesses. read more

Hotel companies Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT.N) and Hyatt Hotels Corp (H.N) said they would suspend development in Russia. read more

Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) and McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) halted sales in Russia on Tuesday in symbolically potent gestures. A senior member of the Russian ruling party has warned that foreign firms that close down could end up having their operations nationalised. read more

McDonald’s said the temporary closure of its 847 stores in the country would cost it $50 million a month. read more

Sportswear firm Adidas (ADSGn.DE) also quantified the cost of scaling back its operations, saying it would take a hit to sales of up to 250 million euros ($277 million). read more

Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), parent of fried chicken giant KFC, said it was pausing investments in Russia, a market that helped it achieve record development last year. read more

Carlsberg (CARLb.CO) said it was suspending Russian…