Continental wants to avoid legal action with which Moscow threatened its local employees.
The automotive supplier Continental said on Wednesday that it was going to relaunch “temporarily» its production in Russia to avoid legal proceedings with which Moscow threatened the local employees of the German group.
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Continental had suspended manufacturing at its plant in Kaluga, some 170 km from Moscow, in early March due to the invasion of Ukraine. But “our employees risk severe criminal penalties if we fail to meet local demand“, explains a spokesperson to AFP. “To protect our employees in Russia from any legal proceedings, we are therefore temporarily resuming, if necessary, the production of car tires, intended for the local market, in our plant in Kaluga.“, he continues. The group, which says “support and respect all applicable sanctions“, specifies not having “no intention of making a profit“.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine disrupts BMW and Volkswagen
In Germany, companies that have kept their activities in Russia are increasingly rare. The major automotive groups Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes have notably put an end to their local production and exports to this country. On Tuesday, the manufacturer of detergents and glues Henkel announced its withdrawal from Russia despite having defended less than two weeks ago the maintenance of its activities in the name of “responsibilitytowards employees. The stores of the wholesaler Metro remain open there, the agrochemical giant Bayer continues to supply the country with seeds and pharmaceutical products.
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