A growing number of international companies, including Apple, Disney and Ford, are dialing back operations in Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine. Among the latest is tech giant IBM.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna says that the company has suspended all business in Russia.
“I’ve heard from many of you in response to last week’s announcement regarding the war in Ukraine, and I appreciate your feedback,” he said in a statement on Monday as reported by ANI news service. “First, let me be very clear — we have suspended all business in Russia. In addition, I want to give you an update on a few of the efforts underway to support our colleagues in the region.”
Last week, Krishna said IBM was making moves to support its workers in Ukraine.
“In Ukraine, we have been in constant touch with our local teams and continue to provide assistance that includes relocation and financial support,” Krishna said. “The safety and security of IBMers and their families in all areas impacted by this crisis remains our top priority.”
IBM also owns Raleigh-based Red Hat and has extensive operations accross North Carolina.
Company exodus list grows
Here’s an update on other companies’ actions:
Exxon announced it would quit its last Russian project, while Boeing said it had suspended major operations in Moscow.
Other global energy players, including BP and Shell, have similarly distanced themselves. And entertainment studios, such as Disney and CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia, have stopped releasing films in the country.
Russia has been trying to stop the exodus, with new capital controls. Meanwhile, countries around the world have been imposing sanctions against Russia, including the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Switzerland and Australia
Autos
Ford announced it was suspending its operations in Russia. The American automaker has a 50% stake in Ford Sollers, a joint venture that employs at least 4,000 workers and is shared with Russian company Sollers.
The company has plants in St. Petersburg, Elabuga and Naberezhnye Chelny but said it had “significantly wound down” its Russian operations in recent years. The automaker said it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine,” and noted it has “a strong contingent of Ukrainian nationals working at Ford around the world.”
General Motors said it was halting all exports to Russia “until further notice.”
GM doesn’t have a significant presence there: It sells only about 3,000 vehicles a year through 16 dealerships, according to a spokesperson. That’s out of the more than 6 million vehicles the Detroit-based automaker sells annually.
Toyota announced it would stop making cars in Russia or importing them to the country “until further notice, due to supply chain disruptions.”
Volkswagen is stopping production of vehicles in Russia and has suspended exports to the Russian market. The decision applies to the Russian production sites in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod.
Nissan has suspended the export of vehicles to Russia, adding that it “anticipates that production will stop soon at our plant in St. Petersburg.”
Aviation
Boeing said it would suspend support for Russian airlines.
A company spokesperson confirmed the aircraft maker was pausing “parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines,” and had also “suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv.”
Airbus followed Boeing with a similar move. In a statement, the company said it has “suspended support services to Russian airlines, as well as the supply of spare parts to the country.”
Big Tech
Apple has stopped selling its products in Russia.
The tech giant said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the Russian invasion. In response, the company has also moved to limit access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, inside Russia, and restricted the availability of Russian state media applications outside the country.
Facebook-parent Meta said it would block access to Russian news outlets Sputnik and RT, the Russia-backed television network infamous for promoting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agenda, across the European Union.
The move comes after the company received “requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state controlled media,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s VP of global affairs, wrote in a tweet.
Meta has also said it has applied algorithmic restrictions on Russian state media that should prevent those posts from surfacing as prominently in users’ feeds.
Twitter has similarly announced plans to “reduce the visibility and amplification” of Russian state media content.
Netflix said it will be suspending its streaming service in Russia.
“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNN.
No other details were provided.
Previously, the company said it was refusing to air Russian state TV channels — something that the platform would have been required to do starting this week under Russian law.
“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” the company told CNN Business.
Spotify said it has closed its office in Russia “indefinitely” and restricted shows “owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media.” The streaming service removed all content from RT and Sputnik in Europe and other regions, a company spokesman said.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” the spokesman added. “Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever.”
Roku, which sells hardware allowing users to stream content through the internet, has banned RT worldwide.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, said it blocked Russian state media within Ukraine, including RT. The video platform also said it would be “significantly limiting recommendations to these channels.”
Google and YouTube have also said they will no longer allow Russian state media outlets to run ads or monetize their content.
Airbnb cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a tweet that his company was suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.
Intel has stopped all shipments to Russia and Belarus, the company announced.
Microsoft said it was suspending all new sales of its products and services in Russia. President and vice-chair Brad Smith also said the company is stopping “many aspects” of its business in Russia in compliance with government sanctions. Microsoft also said it will continue aiding in Ukrainian cybersecurity.
Energy
BP said it was planning to exit its 19.75% stake in Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, and suspending their joint ventures — which amount to one of the biggest foreign investments in Russia.
Equinor will also begin to exit its joint ventures in Russia, the Norwegian oil and gas company announced.
“We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world,” said CEO Anders Opedal.
The company said it had $1.2 billion in long-term investments in Russia at the end of 2021. It has operated in Russia for more than 30 years and has a cooperation agreement with Rosneft.
Exxon pledged to leave its last remaining oil-and-gas project in Russia and not to invest in new developments in the country.
The Sakhalin-1 venture is “one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia,” according to the project’s website. An Exxon subsidiary has a 30% share, while Rosneft also owns a stake.
By quitting this project, Exxon would end more than a quarter-century of continuing business presence in Russia.
Shell is also getting out of Russia and ditching its joint ventures with Gazprom, including its involvement with the moribund Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.
The UK-based oil company said Monday it would dump its stake in a liquified natural gas facility, its stake in a project to develop fields in western Siberia and its interest in an exploration project in the Gydan peninsula in northwestern Siberia.
“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
TotalEnergies also condemned Russia’s actions and said it would no longer provide capital for new projects in the country.
The French oil giant has done business in Russia for 25 years, and recently helped launch a major liquefied natural gas project on the Siberian coast.
Finance
Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund will divest shares in 47 Russian companies as well as Russian government bonds, the Norwegian prime minister said.
Mastercard said it was suspending its network services in Russia. Cards supported by Russian banks will not work in the company’s network, and any cards issued outside of Russia will not work within the country.
The credit giant, which has operated in Russia for more than 25 years, had previously announced that it had “blocked multiple financial institutions” from its network as a result of anti-Russian sanctions, and would “continue to work with regulators in the days ahead.”
Visa said it is suspending all of its operations in Russia. It will end all Visa transactions within its borders, and Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside of the country. In addition, all Visa cards worldwide “will no longer work within the Russian Federation,” Visa said.
American Express said in a statement that globally issued American Express cards will no longer work in Russia, and cards issued in Russia won’t work outside the country. The company also said it is ending its business operations in Belarus.
Moody’s said it is suspending commercial operations in Russia. Its investors service will “maintain analytical coverage for existing ratings from outside Russia.“
Accounting firm KPMG International said that its “Russia and Belarus firms will leave the KPMG network.”
“KPMG has over 4,500 people in Russia and Belarus, and ending our working relationship with them, many of whom have been a part of KPMG for many decades, is incredibly difficult,” the company said. “This decision is not about them — it is a consequence of the actions of the Russian Government. We are a purpose-led and values-driven organization that believes in doing the right thing.”
Media & entertainment
DirecTV is cutting ties with RT.
A spokesperson for the US satellite carrier told CNN Business that it had already been reviewing whether to renew the outlet’s carriage agreement, which was due to expire later this year. Russia’s war on Ukraine sped up its decision, according to the representative.
Disney is also suspending the release of its theatrical films in Russia, citing “the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
The entertainment giant had multiple films set for release in Russia in the coming months. That includes Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” on May 5 and Pixar’s “Lightyear” on June 16.
“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” a Disney spokesperson said.
WarnerMedia said Monday that it would pause the release of “The Batman” in Russia.
The film is one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, and is being released in most countries by Warner Bros. which, like CNN, is a unit of WarnerMedia.
A company spokesperson said that the decision was made “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine,” and that the company hoped “for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”
Retail
H&M will pause all sales in Russia.
In a statement, the company said that it was “deeply concerned about the tragic developments in Ukraine, and stands with all the people who are suffering.”
The clothing giant’s stores in Ukraine are already closed due to safety concerns.
H&M Group, which operates a number of brands, had 168 stores in Russia as of last November, according to its website.
Ikea, the world’s largest furniture company, is closing its 17 stores in Russia. The company said the conflict is having a “huge human impact” and is “resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions.” In addition to pausing its retail and manufacturing operations in Russia, it will suspend all trade with the country and its ally, Belarus.
Ikea said 15,000 workers would be directly affected by the shutdown in the region. The company will continue to pay them, at least for the time being.
Inditex, the parent company of Zara, said it is pausing operations in Russia and closing 502 stores in the country. In a statement, the company said Russia accounts for about 8.5% of its earnings before interest and tax.
German sports company Puma said it is suspending operations of all of its stores in Russia. The company said it operates more than 100 stores in the country.
Luxury fashion house Prada is suspending its retail operations in Russia.
Procter & Gamble CEO Jon Moeller said in a letter to employees on March 7 that the company has “discontinued all new capital investments in Russia” and is “suspending all media, advertising, and promotional activity.”
“We are significantly reducing our product portfolio to focus on basic health, hygiene and personal care items needed by the many Russian families who depend on them in their daily lives,” Moeller said. “As we proceed with the reduced scale of our Russian operations, we will continue to adjust as necessary.”
Estée Lauder Companies said March 7 that it will “suspend all commercial activity in Russia, including closing every store we own and operate, as well as our brand sites and shipments to any of our retailers in Russia.” The company had already suspended business investments and initiatives in Russia, it said in a statement.
Shipping
Maersk and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company are both halting cargo bookings with Russia.
“As the stability and safety of our operations is already being directly and indirectly impacted by sanctions, new Maersk bookings to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended, with exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies,” the Denmark-based company said in a statement.
“We are deeply concerned by how the crisis keeps escalating in Ukraine,” the company added.
MSC, a Swiss-owned container shipping line, said its suspension would cover “all access areas, including Baltics, Black Sea and Far East Russia.”
CNN’s Rishi Iyengar, Michelle Toh, Chris Isidore, Vanessa Yurkevich, Paul P. Murphy, Mark Thompson, Vasco Cotovio, Peter Valdes-Dapena, Frank Pallotta, Brian Fung, Oliver Darcy, Jordan Valinsky, Aliza Kassim, Chris Liakos and Pamela Boykoff contributed to this report.
