Despite war and sanctions
Schaeffler employees cooperated with the Russian GAZ group
4/7/2023 2:16 p.m
The war against Ukraine is apparently not an obstacle for employees of the automotive supplier Schaeffler. In Nizhny Novgorod they meet a high-calibre delegation from the sanctioned Russian vehicle manufacturer GAZ for a workshop. This includes timetables and investments.
According to information from “Spiegel”, the automotive supplier Schaeffler is working in Russia with the sanctioned vehicle manufacturer GAZ Group. At the beginning of March, the Russian group invited several Schaeffler employees to its headquarters in Nizhny Novgorod. During the all-day workshop with a top-class GAZ delegation, further cooperation was discussed. Schedules were drawn up, tasks were distributed, the production of clutch discs and transmission forks was discussed and investment in additional production capacity was considered.
In response to an inquiry by “Spiegel”, a Schaeffler spokesman said that the company was not aware of the meeting “up to now”. However, it was taken as an opportunity to renew a “clear instruction”: According to this, “discussions about future business with sanctioned companies are not authorized by Schaeffler AG”.
The Schaeffler Group adheres to “all applicable national and international sanctions”. Nevertheless, the “enforcement of corporate directives has limits”. Because the employees of the Russian subsidiary are “increasingly exposed to personal disadvantages if they oppose the wishes of the Russian side”.
Group wants to sell business in Russia
In December, the German supplier group from Herzogenaurach decided to sell its Russian business to the Russian company PromAvtoKonsalt. This can take over as soon as the last outstanding Russian permits are available. The Schaeffler supervisory board member and Austrian entrepreneur Siegfried Wolf is behind PromAvtoKonsalt.
Wolf, on the other hand, who is also a member of the supervisory board of VW’s major shareholder Porsche SE, offered according to “Spiegel” in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in January to help rebuild the Russian auto industry. In the letter, Wolf suggested reviving “the legendary Russian Volga brand”. For the comeback, the Austrian wanted to use the factory facilities and know-how of the VW Group, which shut down production at its own plant in Kaluga after the beginning of the war and withdrew from a manufacturing partnership with the Russian carmaker GAZ in Nizhny Novgorod.