The response of governments all over the globe has been impressive. Ukraine crisisWith Sanctions Pressure on the oligarchsA growing number of businesses is taking steps to minimize their relations with Russia.
Apple and IKEA, both consumer-oriented companies, have stopped exports to Russia and suspended sales of their products. Meanwhile, BP and Shell announced that they will end joint ventures and partnerships with Russian state-owned companies.
Here’s a roundup of the biggest companies limiting ties with Russia so far:
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Oil majors
BP was first to declare changes to Russian business relations in the wake of the crisis. The company It announced on February 27th that it was selling its 19.75% share in Rosneft, Russia’s largest energy company. According to reports, BP may sell its stake to Rosneft, the Russian state-controlled energy company, at a significant discount. This is amid fears that it might struggle to find a buyer given current political conditions. Bloomberg.
The British company’s chair Helge Lund said in a Statement: “BP has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with brilliant Russian colleagues. This military action is a significant change. It has led the BP board to conclude, after a thorough process, that our involvement with Rosneft, a state-owned enterprise, simply cannot continue.”
Rosneft accounts for around half of BP’s oil and gas reserves and a third of its production, according to a Reuters report. British company says that the potential loss from selling the stake could be as high as $25 billion. .
Shell took a similar move to BP in February 28, AnnouncementIts decision was to exit its joint ventures with Russian state energy firm Gazprom and “related entities,” which are worth about $3 billion in total. Shell stated it will also end its participation in Nord Stream 2Owned by Nord Stream 2 AG (a Switzerland-based company, which is a subsidiary Gazprom.
TIME spoke with a company spokesperson who said that Shell was adapting to constantly changing situations, but it must also balance its moral responsibilities and the necessity to ensure energy security for the countries it supplies. Russia is a major supplier of around 40% of the E.U.’s gas needs, and cutting those sources off could exacerbate the cost of living crisis in the region. The spokesperson stated that the company has decided to exit joint ventures with Russian-backed entities rather than all projects in Russia.
According to the company, Statement: “In discussion with governments around the world, we will also work through the detailed business implications, including the importance of secure energy supplies to Europe and other markets, in compliance with relevant sanctions.”
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil is the U.S.’s largest energy company. AnnoucedIt would leave the country on March 1. $4 billionSakhalin-1 offshore oil & gas project, which it runs for an international consortium made up of Japanese and Indian companies. It also stated that it will stop new investments in Russia.
“As operator of Sakhalin-1, we have an obligation to ensure the safety of people, protection of the environment and integrity of operations,” the company said in a Statement. “The process to discontinue operations will need to be carefully managed and closely coordinated with the co-venturers in order to ensure it is executed safely.”
Sakhalin-1, a group that has been working to build a multi-billion dollar liquefied Natural Gas Export Terminal at the site.You can also visit e Future is uncertain.
Aircraft
U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing On March 1, it announced that it had suspended the supply and maintenance of aircraft parts for Russian airlines. The European aerospace company was shut down the next day. Airbus The rest followed suit.
According to a Reuters report citing Cirium Fleets statistics, nearly two-thirds (or almost) of Russia’s fleet are made by planes from both makers.
Products for consumers
Tech giant Apple AnnoucedIt had suspended all Russian product sales and restricted Apple Pay and other services on March 1. Sputnik News (state-backed news outlet) and RT News (state-backed news outlet), are not available on the App store outside Russia.
“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence,” the company said in a StatementThe media. “We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.”
In the automotive sector, U.S.-based Ford, German manufacturers Volkswagen and BMW and Japan’s Honda have all taken steps to distance themselves from Russia.
Ford AnnoucedIt was announcing on March 1 it would end a joint venture in Russia. BMW will StopStop production at the Kaliningrad plant and export to Russia Volkswagen March 3, 2009 –ehicle exports to Russia will be stopped with “immediate effect,” and Honda halted Exports of motorcycles and cars to Russia in March 2
One of the world’s biggest furniture brands, IKEA, Annouced March 3 that it was closing all its stores in Russia and pausing all sourcing in Belarus, making it one of the first companies to extend restrictions to Russia’s ally.
“These decisions have a direct impact on 15,000 IKEA co-workers,” a company Statement said. “The ambitions of the company groups are long term and we have secured employment and income stability for the immediate future and provide support to them and their families in the region.”
Entertainment
The Walt Disney Company Feb. 28 it was pausing movie theater releases in Russia, citing “the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
The Hollywood giant reportedly had several movies set for release in Russia over the next few months, including Marvel’s Doctor Strange, in the Multiverse of Madness on May 5 and Pixar’s LightyearOn June 16,, According to CNN.
Warner Studios also haltedRelease of BatmanRussian cinemas are akin to Sony Pictures Theaters. pausedRelease of Marvel adaptation Morbius.
Netflix announced that it has stopped all Russian projects and acquired Russian assets, including the production of four Russian originals. Variety. The streaming platform stated it also would Not to be addedRussian state media channels, despite the fact that local regulations require it, broadcast news from Russia. Wall Street Journal reported.
Services in the financial and professional sectors
Visa and MasterCard both work together Handle 90% of credit and debit card paymentsOutside of China, they stated Feb. 28th that they had blocked a few Russian banks from their payment systems in order to comply with international sanction.
The U.S. has compiled a list of sanctioned entities, including Russia’s central bank and its second-largest lender VTB, forcing Visa to suspend the bank from its network, according to Reuters.
American Express its business in Russia was “small,” it also decided to block the sanctioned banks.
Grant Thornton, the largest professional service firm in America, was founded on March 1. cut tiesIt has a 500-member Russian affiliate firm that audits Gazprom, the state oil company.
Although the Big Four accounting firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and KPMG are still active in Russia, they have issued statements condemning the conflict. The combined workforce of the four firms is more than 13,000. This represents 1.1% or the global average for their total employment. Financial Times.
“We cannot comment on specific companies or individuals but PwC takes compliance with applicable sanctions very seriously,” the company told TIME in a statement. “We monitor sanctions developments on a real time basis to stay up to date with the latest changes and we then act accordingly.”
KPMG said in a statement to TIME that it condemned the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine and supported the Ukrainian people, and that it would be “fully adhering to the sanctions introduced by various governments, which hopefully will contribute to bringing an end to this crisis.”
Deloitte and EY did not immediately respond to TIME’s requests for comment, but both companies have condemned Russia’s actions.
