Even though Cairo and Atlanta are separated by thousands of miles, the riots recently seen in the Egyptian capital have actually affected some of the business located in the U.S. city. In fact, the impact on some of these Atlanta companies has been direct. Another impact of the unrest is that it is very unlikely that any US companies will be relocating to Egypt anytime soon.
Known worldwide for its products, The Coca Cola Company, based in Atlanta, entered the Egyptian market in 1946. The company has an office in Cairo that employs about 100 people – from the U.S. and Egypt alike. That office is now closed due to the riots. Many of the staff may also be considering moving out of the region.
Management at Coca Cola has decided to keep the office closed until the conditions in the city improve. In addition to the Cairo office, Coca Cola has eight franchised bottling operations throughout the rioting country. Those operations remain open and continue to make deliveries though in a very limited sense.
Another Atlanta-based company, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) has also been affected. The company moved into Egypt in 1998 and has established operations throughout the country. UPS partnered with Mansour Courier, an Egyptian company specializing in the local delivery and pick-up.
UPS has a strong presence in Egypt because the county relies heavily on import-export businesses as part of its economy. The UPS-Mansour partnership continues to operate, with about 70-80 people dedicated to the work despite the political upheaval. Of course, there are some delays in moving packages between locations during this uncertain time.
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