company began to accumulate ingredients for the production of drinks in Russia in order to minimize the damage of the sanctions that Western countries threatened Russia following Moscow's recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian regions. After a week of Russian invasion of Ukraine, on March 3, 2022, Coca-Cola announced that the company would not stop working in Russia and that all of Coke's operational, production and logistics facilities in Russia are working. As the result, on March 4, 2022, most Ukrainian supermarkets refused to cooperate with Coca-Cola and sell any of Coke's products. Within days, the campaign to boycott Coca-Cola for its continued operations in Russia has also become international. Celebrities who criticized Coca-Cola over this include American author Stephen King. Employee issues Racial discrimination In November 2000, Coca-Cola agreed to pay $192.5 million to settle a class action racial discrimination lawsuit and promised to change the way it manages, promotes, and treats minority employees in the US. In 2003, protesters at Coca-Cola's annual meeting claimed that black people remained underrepresented in top management at the company, were paid less than white employees, and were fired more often. In 2004, Luke Visconti, a co-founder of DiversityInc, which rates companies on their diversity efforts, said: "Because of the settlement decree, Coca-Cola was forced to put in management practices that have put the company in the top 10 for diversity." In March 2012, 16 workers of color sued Coca-Cola, claiming they had to work in a “cesspool of racial discrimination.” In February 2021, recordings of an employee training course were leaked on social media, which were racist towards white people. The course instructed employees to "be less white", which the course equated with being less "arrogant" and "oppressive." Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co. In 2001, the Sinaltrainal trade union filed a suit against Coca-Cola in a Miami district court. The union alleged that two Coca-Cola bottling partners, Bebidas y Alimentos and Panamco, assisted paramilitaries in murdering several union members. The court decided charges would be considered against the partners but not Coca-Cola itself. On September 4, 2006, Judge Martinez dismissed the remaining claims against the two bottlers. Turedi v. Coca Cola Co. In 2005, 105 Coca-Cola employees in Turkey were terminated for their union activity and these employees, some of whom were joined by family members, were physically attacked by members of the Cevik Kuvvet during peaceful demonstrations against their terminations. References Coca-Cola Coca-Cola