For fear of consequences
Continental is producing in Russia again
04/19/2022, 8:45 p.m
Tire production at Continental in Russia started up again last week. The company cites “fear of criminal consequences” for the employees on site as the reason and asserts that it has “no intention of making a profit”.
Auto parts supplier and tire manufacturer Continental has resumed operations in Russia. As the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” reports, tire production in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, started up again at the end of last week. At the request of the newspaper, the group justified this with “harsh criminal consequences” for employees and managers on site if they did not serve the needs in the country.
“The basis for this step is the duty of care for our employees in Russia,” the newspaper quoted the company as saying. Conti had stopped working in Kaluga at the beginning of March, as well as the entire import and export business with the Russian Federation, as it was called at the time. Production is now being resumed at the location “temporarily if necessary”. It’s a lot well below the previous capacity utilization of the plant. Conti is not pursuing “any intention of making a profit” there.
Other companies had withdrawn completely from the country because they no longer saw a business basis after the war of aggression against Ukraine. Conti also emphasized that the management condemned the war, but wanted to protect its employees in Russia from criminal prosecution. “Continental supports and complies with all applicable sanctions and legal regulations that have been imposed as a result of the war in Ukraine,” the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” quoted the company as saying.