Oreo cookie maker MondelezMDLZThe pair of memos reveal new details of the company's overhaul of Europe this week as new management was put in place at its lucrative Russian operations.

After months of boycotts and demands from shareholders and activists to exit Russia (link), Chicago-based Mondelez halted its advertising operations in Russia but failed to fully exit the country.

In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Europe President Vince Gruber informed employees that the company has appointed a new general manager to lead the Russian operations, which Gruber described as a "Independent organization".

But the memo says the Russian general manager's new role will be to report to another executive who reports to Gruber. The arrangement may not appease Mondelez's critics. The company has three factories in Russia and continues to sell products including Milka chocolate there despite investor pressure and boycotts to withdraw.

"In the law, we use the expression 'difference without distinction.' It's an attempt to work around a situation that doesn't make sense," said Nell Minow, a corporate governance expert and vice chairman of ValueEdge Advisors. big. "Certain types of business contacts, if it has to do with health, urgent supplies, you can see the justification for that. Those are cookies, there's really no excuse."

In response to questions from Reuters, Mondelez said on Friday that "beginning in late 2023, we have separated the local business and operate it more independently."

"Products sold in Russia are now produced and distributed locally, with no finished products imported from Europe to Russia and no exports from Russia to Europe," it added.

Mondelez is scheduled to speak Tuesday at the New York Consumer Analytics Group conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

McDonald'sMCD,StarbucksSBUXand many other global brands left Russia after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in 2022, writing off billions of dollars in assets (link).

Mondelez's competitors include Maggi maker NestléNESNContinue to operate in Russia (link). Food is not subject to any international sanctions.

In its annual report released in February, the company said war in Ukraine ( link ) was a risk to its business that could lead to loss of life, property damage and destruction.

"While we are a food company and have made public statements regarding Ukraine and Russia, our operations in Russia may also face skepticism or negative scrutiny from stakeholders," Mondelez said in the annual report.

In a company statement last year, Mondelez said its operations in Russia provide "shelf-stable products that are daily staples for ordinary people" and that suspending operations "would mean cutting off access to many families who have had no voice in the war." Partial food supply".

Mondelez executive Gruber told employees in a Jan. 31 memo that the company would reorganize the European region into 14 "business units" responsible for smaller regions and individual countries. On February 13, Gruber informed employees in another memo that Alexey Blinov would become the new general manager in Russia. According to his LinkedIn profile, Blinov is the financial director of Mondelez in Moscow.

Mondelez's Milka and Cadbury chocolates are popular in Europe, the company's largest market by sales, but the company has been at odds with local retailers over price increases.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mondelez said it was scaling back its operations in Russia and focusing on "essential products" but still faced internal pressure from employees to quit (link).

Last year, a corporate campaign to boycott Mondial erupted in the Nordic country after a Ukrainian agency labeled the company a "sponsor of international war."

Mondelez said in June last year that it would make its Russian operations "independent(link) with a self-sufficient supply chain" by the end of this year, without providing further details.

The company said in its annual report released earlier this month that the profitability of its Russian operations exceeded historical levels.

Mondelez executives in Moscow also ran the company's operations in Ukraine before the war, a source familiar with the company's structure said. The source said its Ukrainian operations had been removed from Moscow's oversight following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.