Heineken has decided to completely exit Russia, withdrawing all ownership of business in the country.

Prior to this announcement the beer company had previously halted all new investments and exports to Russia, stopped the production, sale and advertising of the brand, and stated that it would not accept any profits made from business in Russia.

As a result of the departure, the company is anticipating a €4 billion (£3.3 billion) loss as it claims it will not profit from any transfer of ownership.

The Dutch brewer has also pledged to pay the salaries of its 1,800 employees until the end of 2022 and will do its “upmost to safeguard their future employment”.

Following on from these earlier statements and due to the intensification of the war in Ukraine, Heineken has decided that business in Russia is no longer “sustainable” or “viable” and has completing removed operations from the country.

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“We aim for an orderly transfer of our business to a new owner in full compliance with international and local laws,” Heineken said.

“To ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our employees and to minimise the risk of nationalisation, we concluded that it is essential that we continue with the recently reduced operations during this transition period.”

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