Koch Industries

2022 - 3 - 17

Koch Industries Will Continue to Operate Factories in Russia (The New York Times)

Koch employs about 600 people in Russia through a unit that makes up a small part of its overall business.

Koch Industries will “not walk away from our employees there or hand over these manufacturing facilities to the Russian government so it can operate and benefit from them,” Mr. Robertson said. Koch Industries will continue to operate its factories in Russia. Koch Industries, the industrial conglomerate run by the billionaire Charles Koch, has said it will continue to operate factories in Russia as other companies pull out after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Vanity Fair"

Charles Koch Is Keeping His Business in Russia, Despite ... (Vanity Fair)

Koch Industries' president said it would “do more harm than good” to shutter its roughly 600-person glass-making operation in Russia.

The United States, alongside allied countries, imposed severe sanctions on Russia, and on many of the country’s Kremlin-allied business leaders. Will Ruger, president of the American Institute for Economic Research, a Koch-backed think tank, also argued against U.S. sanctions in Russia, as did the Koch-backed organization Concerned Veterans for America. The sanctions have crippled Russia’s economy and put increased pressure on the country’s top leaders. Earlier this week, Stand Together, Koch’s nonprofit, warned against completely severing the West’s business ties with Russia and called for “targeted sanctions against Russia.” “We also believe that sanctions are a legitimate tool of statecraft. Robertson, cited a Wall Street Journal report that Russian prosecutors have warned Western companies that their assets could be seized if they withdraw from the country. Koch Industries, which employs more than 122,000 people worldwide, is complying with all applicable sanctions and regulations, according to Robertson’s statement.

All of the companies still doing business in Russia (Fortune)

Among those operating undeterred: Authentic Brands' Reebok, Halliburton, Koch Industries, LG Electronics, and Subway, which has nearly 450 franchised locations in Russia. The list, launched several days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ...

Koch Industries Stays in Russia: Leaving 'Would Do More Harm ... (Rolling Stone)

While multiple U.S. based companies sever ties with Russia after its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Koch Industries has decided to continue operating in ...

Major labels — including Universal, Sony, and Warner Music Group — have suspended operations in Russia. Live Nation also ceased operations in the country, while studios including Disney, Netflix and Warner Brothers said they’d halt releases of their films in the country, and Apple paused selling its products in Russia. McDonald’s temporarily shuttered its 850 locations in Russia, but will continue to pay its employees. “While Guardian’s business in Russia is a very small part of Koch, we will not walk away from our employees there or hand over these manufacturing facilities to the Russian government so it can operate and benefit from them,” Dave Robertson, the president and chief operating officer, said in a statement, where he acknowledged that Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine is “an affront to humanity.”

Koch Industries: Here's why we're staying in Russia - CNN (CNN)

Koch Industries, the conglomerate run by billionaire Charles Koch, is planning to stay in Russia even as hundreds of Western companies have scaled back ...

"Koch Industries is shamefully continuing to do business in Putin's Russia and putting their profits ahead of defending democracy," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Ron Wyden, in a joint statement. Charles Koch has been a frequent supporter of the Republican party. "Doing so would only put our employees there at greater risk and do more harm than good."

Koch Industries to stay in Russia, says exiting does 'more harm than ... (The Washington Post)

More than 400 global companies have announced plans to withdraw or scale back their operations in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. The Biden administration will also announce on Wednesday more sanctions on Russian enterprises and government officials. The last independent newsletter in Russia suspended its operations. “The horrific and abhorrent aggression against Ukraine is an affront to humanity,” said Robertson, the Koch executive. It is run and partly owned by Charles Koch, known for the millions he donated to conservative causes with his brother David Koch, who died in 2019. Koch Industries, the American manufacturing giant that employs 122,000 people across the world, said Wednesday it would not exit its operations in Russia because doing so would put its “employees there at greater risk and do more harm than good.”

Koch Industries stays in Russia, backs groups opposing U.S. sanctions (CBS News)

Political groups supported by Charles Koch, the right-wing billionaire who is chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, oppose broad economic sanctions against ...

A similar message comes from Will Ruger, president of another Charles Koch-backed group, the American Institute for Economic Research, or AIER, according to Popular Information's reporting. "We will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep you updated as needed." However, broad-based economic sanctions rarely achieve their desired policy outcomes," Dan Caldwell, the group's vice president for foreign policy, tweeted on Monday. The company's stance on doing business in Russia drew criticism in some quarters. Making money is what they value," Mayer tweeted. "While Guardian's business in Russia is a very small part of Koch, we will not walk away from our employees there or hand over these manufacturing facilities to the Russian government so it can operate and benefit from them," Dave Robertson, president and COO of Koch Industries, said Wednesday in a statement posted by the company.