automotive industry
The Opel parent company Stellantis is completely suspending production at its Russian plant. The step is necessary to comply with the sanctions and to protect the employees. At the beginning of March, the group announced that it would stop exporting vehicles from the plant in Kaluga, south of Moscow, and cut production significantly.
The Volkswagen Group has stopped exports to Russia with immediate effect. Production at the Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod sites will be suspended until further notice. Finished vehicles that are already in Russia are no longer delivered to local dealers. At the VW subsidiaries Porsche and Skoda, production in Russia and vehicle deliveries there were also ended.
The Mercedes-Benz Group, formerly Daimler and the former parent company of the Daimler truck division, has ceased all business activities in Russia. This also applies to the truck manufacturer Kamaz, with which Daimler Truck builds commercial vehicles. The Stuttgart group also wanted to examine how it could sell its shares in the Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz. However, a spokesman for Daimler Truck denied the media reports that there were talks with the state-owned company Rostec: "We cannot confirm that," said a spokesman for Mercedes-Benz – the Dax group, as the successor to Daimler AG, holds the 15th percentage of Kamaz. Rostec holds almost 50 percent, while Avtoinvest, registered in Cyprus, owns 23.5 percent.
BMW is not exporting its cars to Russia and wants to end production in the plants there.
The carmaker Renault, which has a majority stake in Russia's largest automaker Avtovaz, initially only restricted its activities in Russian plants due to logistical bottlenecks. But the French made a U-turn and now do not want to remain active in Russia. The company stops its production in Moscow. But that's not all: Renault has now announced that the group is completely ceasing its activities in Russia due to the war in Ukraine and is selling all its shares in the company.
The Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars, a subsidiary of the Chinese vehicle group Geely, will no longer deliver its cars to Russia until further notice.
The American manufacturer General Motors (GM) has also announced an export stop to Russia.
Ford Motor has informed its joint venture partner Sollers about the suspension of its business in Russia. The joint venture produces the Russian flagship Aurus Senat car, which was developed at the special request of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi is considering halting the production and sale of its cars in Russia as the sanctions could disrupt the Japanese supply chain.
The Japanese world market leader Toyota will cease production at its plant in St. Petersburg, Russia, where Toyota mainly produces the SUV model RAV4 and the Camry for the Russian market. The reason given by the group was disruptions in the supply chain.
Motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson has suspended its operations and deliveries in Russia.
Luxury car makers Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin are pausing the export of their cars to Russia.
Ferrari and the Volkswagen subsidiary Lamborghini are withdrawing from the Russian business because of the war in Ukraine. Ferrari said production of supercars for the Russian market will be halted until further notice. Lamborghini wrote via Instagram that the deal was being put on hold.
Continental is currently considering a complete withdrawal from Russia. The auto supplier and tire manufacturer had restarted its tire production in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, because employees and managers in Russia were said to have been threatened with "harsh criminal penalties" if "we should refrain from serving local demand".
The French tire manufacturer Michelin is giving up its activities in Russia. By the end of the year, the business would be handed over to the local management. After the handover to local management, the business would be run in a new entity that would be independent of Michelin, the company said.
Japanese tire maker Bridgestone is temporarily closing its factory in Russia and suspending exports to Russia.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment group Sony is suspending the delivery of its Playstation console and associated games to Russia because of the war in Ukraine. The latest title in the "Gran Turismo" game series will not be released in Russia and the Playstation Store will also be closed.
Japanese competitor Nintendo is not cutting back its business as much as Sony. After all, the group announced that it would initially stop shipping all products to Russia.
The British energy company BP is selling its stake of almost 20 percent in the Russian oil company Rosneft.
The British energy group Shell no longer wants to buy oil and gas from Russia and does not want to renew existing contracts. In addition, all gas stations in Russia will be closed and other business activities there will be abandoned. In addition, the group wants to give up its joint ventures with Gazprom and associated companies.
The US oil company Exxon Mobil is withdrawing from the Russian oil and gas business and is no longer making any new investments.
French oil giant Total no longer wants to provide capital for new projects in Russia.
The Norwegian energy group Equinor will part with its joint ventures in Russia, including Rosneft.
Austrian energy group OMV has abandoned plans to participate in a Gazprom gas field project and is considering its role in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The Düsseldorf-based energy group Uniper does not want to make any new investments in Russia.
Fortum, the Finnish energy group and majority owner of Uniper, also wants to withdraw from Russia and in the process also sell off the power generation business of its German subsidiary Uniper there.
The Essen-based energy group RWE does not want to conclude any new supply contracts with Russia. This applies to gas as well as hard coal and oil.
e.on also announced that it would no longer buy new gas from the Russian group Gazprom and its European trading companies. Nevertheless, the boss of the energy company, Leonhard Birnbaum, spoke out again against an embargo on Russian natural gas: "It's not as if only Germany would be hit hard by such a step, Europe would have a massive problem," said Birnbaum in an interview the "Handelsblatt". For the time being, the Essen-based company is sticking to its stake in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
Four major Western brands, some of which have shaped Russia for decades – the first McDonald's branch was opened in Russia in 1990 – are leaving in one fell swoop. As agreed, the US corporations McDonald's, Starbucks and Coca-Cola announced that they would stop operations in Russia for the time being. Meanwhile, McDonald's has decided to pull out of Russia entirely and sell its business. Starbucks announced the same: The world's largest coffee chain is withdrawing completely from Russia after around 15 years. The group announced that it would permanently close its stores in the country and give up its brand presence there. According to Starbucks, it wants to continue to pay the employees for six months and support them in their search for new jobs.
PepsiCo also wants to severely restrict its business, temporarily suspending the sale and manufacture of soft drinks such as Pepsi, 7Up and Mirinda. In addition, the group wants to stop investments and all advertising and marketing activities in Russia.
The food company Danone suspends all investments in Russia. However, the production and distribution of "fresh dairy products and baby food will be maintained in order to continue to meet the essential food needs of the local population".
The Dutch brewery Heineken says goodbye to Russia for good. The company will "transfer" its ownership in the country to a new owner. "In any case, we guarantee the wages of our 1,800 employees until the end of 2022 and will do our best to secure their future employment," said Heineken.
Nestle pulled most of its products off the shelves in Russia after strong criticism from consumers, activist groups and politicians. The group only provides basic foodstuffs such as baby food and medical and hospital-specific nutrition there.
financial industry
Global bank HSBC is scaling back its cooperation with Russian banks, including Russia's second largest bank VTB.
In addition to Goldman Sachs, the largest US bank JPMorgan is also withdrawing from Russia. JPMorgan's activities in the country are now limited to helping clients deal with existing obligations and risks and looking after the employees there.
Deutsche Bank is shutting down business in Russia. No new business will be done there either. "At the same time, we are helping our existing non-Russian international clients to scale back their operations in the country." Commerzbank also announced that it would stop its new business in Russia. "We have stopped new business in Russia, we are only processing existing transactions," said a spokeswoman.
The Swiss reinsurer Swiss Re is putting its business in Russia and Belarus on hold. For the time being, the group will not be writing any new business with Russian and Belarusian customers, regardless of whether they are sanctioned or not. Existing business with Russian customers will not be renewed.
At the investment company DWS, actively managed mutual funds are not making any new investments in Russian securities for the time being.
Union Investment is suspending the issue and redemption of fund units for UniEM Eastern Europe. The fund of the investment company of the Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken had a fund volume of around 100 million euros at the end of January, around 60 percent of which was invested in Russia.
Bank Nordea has suspended trading in investment funds with a high exposure to Russia.
Visa, Mastercard and American Express have suspended their business with Russia. For customers of the world's three largest credit card providers, this means that they can only pay in Russia with Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit cards issued by Russian banks. Cards issued by non-Russian banks no longer work in Russia. Visa, Mastercard and American Express had previously excluded Russian banks from their payment networks.
The payment service PayPal stops its remaining services in Russia. This includes international transfers.
The big auditors KPMG and PwC are parting with their Russian business. The previous Russian member companies left the global associations, the accounting groups announced. The big accountants operate as global networks of local firms owned by local partners.
The US rating agency Fitch has stopped doing business in Russia. Credit ratings and other services will be discontinued there with immediate effect.
After its competitor Hannover Re, the world's largest reinsurer, Munich Re, has also decided to withdraw from Russia. Existing contracts in Russia and Belarus are not to be renewed. According to Munich Re, new business has been discontinued. There are only exceptions to this if the retreat “would negatively affect people or companies worthy of protection” and if it was even possible despite the sanctions.
Allianz and other major insurers are also pulling out of Russia. Allianz is no longer doing any new business there and is “significantly reducing” its existing commitments in an orderly manner. The Swiss Zurich Insurance also announced that it would put its business in Russia on hold. Insurance brokers Willis Towers Watson, Marsh and Aon are also withdrawing.
The Swedish furniture retailer Ikea temporarily stops all exports and imports to and from Russia and Belarus. The same applies to production in Russia. 15,000 employees are affected by the decision.
The retail chains REWE, its subsidiary Penny, Aldi and the Edeka group's discounter Netto no longer want to sell products that have been manufactured in Russia.
The hardware store chain Obi is closing its business in Russia. According to Obi, it has 27 hardware stores and 4,900 employees in Russia – measured against the total workforce, Russia accounts for about a tenth.
The Austrian machine and plant manufacturer Andritz is suspending all new business in Russia until further notice. The background is the continued acts of war in Ukraine and the international sanctions imposed on Russia.
The electrical and energy technology manufacturer Siemens Energy has stopped all new business in Russia.
The former parent company Siemens is closing its business in Russia after around 170 years. "We condemn the war in Ukraine and have decided to end our industrial business activities in Russia in an orderly process," said CEO Roland Busch.
BASF, one of the world's largest chemical groups, will almost completely give up its business in Russia and Belarus by the beginning of July 2022. An exception are the activities to support food production. Otherwise the war mountains mean that BASF runs the risk of triggering a global food crisis.
The gas group Linde has stopped its new business in Russia and is in the process of gradually reducing activities there: Certain customers are no longer supplied, and the group wants to part with at least some of the plants. Medical gases such as oxygen for the sick and the supply of natural gas have not been included so far.
Truck and train brake maker Knorr-Bremse is withdrawing from its joint venture with Russian truckmaker Kamaz, in addition to the temporary halt to all final-destination deliveries announced last week. In addition, the board of directors decided not to supply any more products or systems for locomotives to Russia, as it cannot be ruled out that they would be used for military purposes.
One of the world's largest conglomerates, General Electric (GE), also announced that it would withdraw from the Russian business. The only exceptions are essential medical equipment and the support of existing energy networks in the region.
The machine tool builder DMG Mori has closed its business in Russia. All deliveries of machines, spare parts, components and services as well as production in Ulyanovsk were immediately stopped on February 24th.
The household appliance manufacturer Miele is also reducing its business in Russia. The family business from Gütersloh has stopped its deliveries to the country with immediate effect. Own branches and the internet shop had already been closed.
Sporting goods manufacturer Adidas has ended its partnership with the Russian Football Union. In addition, the group will stop operating its own shops and online trading in Russia until further notice.
The world's largest sporting goods company Nike wants to withdraw completely from Russia in view of the ongoing war against Ukraine. The Adidas competitor had already significantly restricted its business in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Puma is temporarily suspending the operations of its stores in Russia. Originally, the sporting goods manufacturer had only refrained from new deliveries to Russia.
The consumer goods group Henkel is now withdrawing completely from Russia after a long period of hesitation. Henkel's approximately 2,500 employees in Russia will continue to be employed and paid. After the start of the war, Henkel had already decided to stop all planned investments in Russia and to stop advertising and sponsorship. However, the production there was originally supposed to continue.
Beiersdorf has already significantly reduced its business in Russia, but the group wants to remain there with products for everyday consumer needs.
The Swedish household appliance manufacturer Electrolux has ceased all activities in Russia.
The Swedish fashion group Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) withdraws completely from Russia and winds up the business. The costs amount to the equivalent of almost 190 million euros. According to the H&M Group, it has been active in Russia since 2009.
French luxury retailer Hermès is temporarily closing its three stores in Russia, including that in Moscow's famous Gum department store on Red Square. The opening of a store in St. Petersburg planned for this year will also be "postponed indefinitely".
French luxury brand manufacturer LVMH is temporarily closing its 124 stores in Russia
The luxury group Kering is also temporarily closing its stores in Russia.
The Italian fashion house Prada announced a sales stop in Russia.
US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) is ending all of its capital investments in Russia. In addition, the group wants to "considerably reduce" its portfolio in Russia. In addition, all media and advertising activities are stopped there. The group includes brands such as Gillette, Pampers and Oral B.
Jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) is temporarily ceasing business in Russia because of the war of aggression against Ukraine. New investments in Russia are therefore out of the question for the time being.
The fashion group Hugo Boss has closed all its stores in Russia. The company said that retail and online shopping activities in the country had ended.
The consumer goods group Colgate-Palmolive only sells essential health and hygiene products for everyday use in Russia. The US group announced that the delivery of all other items had been discontinued.
The fifth largest tobacco company, Imperial Brands, ceased operations in Russia. Discussions are being held with a local interested party regarding the sale of the business and parts of the property.
The two major US parcel service providers UPS and FedEx are temporarily suspending deliveries to Russia and Ukraine because of the Russian invasion.
The Deutsche Post subsidiary DHL no longer transports shipments to Russia. Transport services to and from Ukraine were also stopped.
The Danish shipping company Maersk is suspending container shipping to and from Russia.
The shipping company Hapag Lloyd has temporarily suspended bookings for Russia and stopped trips to Ukraine.
The Swiss logistics group Kuehne + Nagel is suspending all import deliveries to the Russian Federation until further notice, with the exception of pharmaceutical, health and humanitarian transports.
Lufthansa no longer flies to Russia. The subsidiary Lufthansa Technik has stopped all services for Russian customers because of the sanctions, several hundred aircraft are affected.
Airplane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have suspended deliveries to Russian airlines. The airlines will no longer receive spare parts and will no longer receive technical support.
The Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier is putting all activities with Russian customers on hold. This includes all technical support.
The world's largest aircraft leasing company, Aercap Holdings, is not leasing deals with Russian airlines.
Two of the largest booking system providers for air tickets, the US company Saber and the Spanish Amadeus IT Group, have severed their business relationships with the Russian airline Aeroflot.
The airport operator Fraport is suspending its business activities in St. Petersburg. In addition to the 25 percent stake in the operating company of Pulkovo Airport, Fraport owns assets there in the low three-digit million range.
The Hollywood studios Warner Brothers, Disney and Sony Pictures are suspending film starts in Russia.
The world's largest music label, Universal Music Group, is closing all offices in Russia and putting its operations on hold.
Video streaming provider Netflix is ceasing operations in Russia. A new registration in Russia is no longer possible. Existing customers will therefore still be able to use the service until the next monthly payment is due.
TikTok wants to suspend live streams and the distribution of new videos in Russia. The messaging service offered via the app in Russia remains unaffected.
The agricultural and pharmaceutical group Bayer is discontinuing all "non-essential business" in Russia and Belarus. All expenses not related to the provision of essential products will be halted. Essential health and agricultural products – such as those used to treat cancer or cardiovascular diseases, health products for pregnant women and children, and seeds for growing food – for the civilian population will continue to be supplied.
technology
The US technology group Apple is suspending the sale of all products in Russia and restricting Apple Pay and other services.
The Alphabet subsidiary Google is suspending its advertising business in Russia until further notice. Advertising is affected both in the context of Internet searches and on the YouTube video platform. Previously, Google only blocked certain war-related ads. The company has also blocked apps associated with Russian broadcasters RT and Sputnik from its Play Store. Also, Google has blocked the channels related to RT and Sputnik on its YouTube video platform in Europe.
Chip giant Intel is suspending all deliveries to customers in Russia. Belarus, which supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is also no longer supplied. Intel is the main provider of processors and servers in data centers.
Microsoft wants to remove RT's apps from the Windows App Store and ban advertising in Russian state-sponsored media. In addition, the group announced that it would suspend the sale of its products, i.e. no more new business in Russia.
The US computer manufacturer Dell has suspended sales of products in Ukraine and Russia.
The South Korean electronics group Samsung has stopped its deliveries to Russia. He was previously the market leader in Russia for memory chips, smartphones and televisions.
As another tech company, the apartment broker Airbnb has stopped its activities in Russia and Belarus.
German software giant SAP and its US rival Oracle are suspending all activities in Russia.
The computer game manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA) wants to remove the Russian national team and all Russian football clubs from the computer game FIFA 22. FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online are also affected by the move.
The world's largest online retailer Amazon stops shipping products to private customers in Russia and Belarus. In addition, users in Russia will be blocked from accessing the Prime Video streaming service until further notice. In addition, Amazon will no longer accept orders there for "New World" – the only video game that the company sells directly in Russia. Amazon has also decided to close both its online marketplace and cloud platform AWS to new customers in Russia and Belarus.
The Japanese technology group Fujitsu stops all orders and all deliveries to Russia. Fujitsu had offered computer servers and services related to such products in Russia.
The software group SAP is ending its cloud business in Russia. According to the most valuable German company, discussions are currently taking place with customers on how to ensure a smooth transition given the circumstances. At the beginning of March, SAP had already partially discontinued its new business in Russia. However, support for software installed on local servers will not be stopped.
telecommunications
The Swedish network supplier Ericsson is suspending its customer business in Russia indefinitely.
The Finnish telecommunications supplier Nokia is giving up its entire business in Russia. Almost two percent of sales and 2,000 employees are affected.
Deutsche Telekom is also withdrawing from Russia. The company has a large software development site in Saint Petersburg and two smaller branches in other Russian cities with a total of around 2,000 employees. The employees there were offered the opportunity to continue working outside of Russia. "Many employees took advantage of this opportunity and left the country."
Leave a comment