In Kaluga, a small industrial city in Russia, 200 km southwest of Moscow, the days follow one another, but they are not the same.
Yesterday, Stellantis decided to close its commercial vehicle plant (Opel, Citroën, Peugeot) due to European sanctions and a shortage of spare parts.
Today it is a German car supplier, Continental, which instead announces that it is reopening its tire factory (of which it is, incidentally, the 4th largest producer in the world) at its Russian factory in Kaluga.
This announcement, which couldn’t be more surprising, comes as the European Union is preparing a sixth wave of sanctions against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, and when all Western companies were asked to pack up so as not to destroy the Russian war machine. feed financially.
Local Continental employees pressured by Moscow
To justify such a move against the grain, the management of the German company is calling for real and serious pressure: resuming production would be the only solution the company finds to protect its local workers, whom Moscow are threatened with legal proceedings, the German group says.
Indeed, Continental had stopped all production at its Kaluga plant in early March due to the invasion of Ukraine.
But “our employees risk severe criminal penalties if we don’t meet local demand,” a spokesperson told AFP.
The Continental spokesperson continues:
“In order to protect our employees in Russia against possible legal proceedings, we therefore temporarily resume production of car tires intended for the local market, if necessary, at our factory in Kaluga,” he continues.
In an effort to win itself back, Continental says it is giving up all profit
Apparently aware of the symbolic weight of this reopening amid a massive shelling operation in eastern Ukraine, the group seeks a more ethically tolerable stance by affirming “support and respect all applicable sanctions”and as a definitive argument to silence anyone who would argue that the lure of profit dictates management’s choice, this states that the group does not “not intended to make a profit”.
German companies still active in Russia are rare
In Germany, companies that have kept their activities in Russia are becoming increasingly rare. Major automotive groups volkswagen† BMW† mercedes in particular put an end to their local production and their exports to this country.
Tuesday, the manufacturer of detergents and glues Henkel announced his withdrawal from Russia, despite defending the continuation of his activities in the name of “responsibility” to the workers less than two weeks ago.
Wholesale stores Subway stay open there, the chemical and agri-food giant Bayer continues to supply the country in seeds and medicines.
The group returned to profit in 2021 after two dark years
A few weeks ago, on March 8, 2022, tire manufacturer Continental presented its annual results showing that the group had returned to profit after two years of consecutive losses (from 1.46 billion euros in 2021).
After a difficult 2020 marked by the pandemic with factory closures and record declines in global car sales, the Hanover-based car supplier and tire manufacturer Continental posted significant growth again in 2021.
Revenue rose 6% in 2021 to 33.8 billion euros ($37 billion), better than analysts had expected.
Earnings before interest and taxes, adjusted for exceptional effects, amounted to 1.9 billion euros last year, about a third more than the year before.
These figures include only the activities that are currently continuing and do not take into account that of the powertrain division that has now become an independent company, Vitesco.
(with AFP and Reuters)
