Chartered buses and halted sales. How Triangle companies are responding to Ukraine
In response to the shelling of cities in Ukraine, some of the Triangle’s largest employers have begun halting their operations in Russia and supporting workers who might be under threat of attack in Ukraine.
IBM and Red Hat, two of the largest technology employers in the Research Triangle, said this week that they would stop sales and services to companies based in Russia and neighboring Belarus, which is supporting the Russian invasion.
Both companies have employees in both Ukraine and Russia, and have begun efforts to help support them or help them leave the country. (Many workers cannot leave the country because Ukraine barred adult men from leaving, asking them instead to stay and fight.)
Red Hat chartered several buses to help families of its workers escape to Poland. IBM created a mapping app that helps Ukrainian employees and contractors connect with colleagues in Eastern Europe who can offer lodging, transportation and food.
“The safety and security of IBMers and their families in all areas impacted by this crisis remains our top priority,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a letter to employees.
SAS, Cary’s largest employer, has also halted business in Russia, and put its nearly 200 employees there on paid leave, a SAS spokesperson told the Triangle Business Journal.
SAS doesn’t have any employees in Ukraine.
Epic Games, the Cary-based video game company behind the popular game Fortnite, said, in a Tweet, that it was “stopping commerce” with Russia in its games. However, the company added, it would not restrict access.
“We’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open,” the company wrote.
Epic will, however, block Russian players from being eligible for Fortnite tournament prizes.
Cisco, a large employer in Research Triangle Park, also stopped business in Russia and said it was shifting its focus to supporting its employees in Ukraine. “We stand with Ukraine and condemn this unjustified war,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said in a letter to employees, according to Marketwatch.
GSK, a pharmaceutical company with around 1,300 employees in Durham, said in a statement, it has around 400 employees in Ukraine that it is supporting.
In regards to Russia, GSK is taking a stand that appears to be popular among many health-focused companies: halting advertising, but not the sales of health products.
“In line with our purpose to support people’s health, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language or religion, we believe everyone has the right to access healthcare,” the company wrote. “... For this reason, we will continue to supply our products to the people of Russia, while we can.”
Leaving the Russian market doesn’t represent a huge risk for most U.S. companies, it should be noted. If exports to Ukraine and Russia were cut off, it would decrease U.S. gross domestic product growth by less than 0.1%, according to UNC’s Kenan Institute.
