We’ve seen countless Western companies withdraw their services from Russia and now Muscovites are paying the price

Hundreds of thousands of jobs are expected to be lost in Moscow alone.

The city’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin says this number could reach 200,000 with authorities setting aside 41 million dollars to support those at risk of losing their job.

A large number of Western companies have left Russia or suspended operations since the country invaded Ukraine at the end of Feburary.

This has impacted a variety of industries from food to tech and even energy.

One of the largest businesses to pull out is McDonald’s they had over 800 stores mostly owned by the company itself.

McDonalds employs around 62,000 people in Russia and have assured that they will continue to pay their workers for some time.

IKEA, which also has stores right across Russia with around 15,000 workers have promised to pay three months worth of salary to its employees.

Once these companies are no longer able to support their workers or for those left behind Sobyanin says the Russian government will step in.

The assistance plan will support those employed by foreign companies providing training, employment in temporary and public works and incentives for organisations and firms to hire these workers.

This all comes as Russia is on the brink of an economic crisis with inflation soaring and predictions of a deep recession to come.