Bridgestone suspends manufacturing in Russia

Bridgestone has said that it has decided to suspend its manufacturing activities in Russia from 18 March. In a statement, the company also said that it has decided to freeze any new investments and suspend all exports to Russia with immediate effect.

Source: Bastian Kienitz - 123RF.com

"Over the last weeks, we have been deeply affected by the war in Ukraine and its impact on many innocent people including our own employees and partners. We condemn any form of violence and hope that peace can quickly be re-established. Our primary concern in this crisis is the safety of our employees and their families.

"We continue to care for our more than 1,000 employees in our passenger tyre production plant in Ulyanovsk and our sales offices. Therefore, we will support our employees financially at this time," Bridgestone said.

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Bridgestone also said that its global and regional management will continue to closely monitor the situation and flexibly adapt plans when needed. The company expects manufacturing output outside Russia to remain stable in the coming weeks.

"The last two weeks have transformed the world with more than two and half million people having already fled their homes. Many of our employees have participated in spontaneous volunteer activities to support the refugees from Ukraine. Bridgestone EMIA has made a €1m (R16,5m) donation to the Red Cross, in addition to the €2.5m (R41m) donated by Bridgestone Corporation to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and we will continue to evaluate how we can help alleviate the humanitarian crisis," Bridgestone said.