Koch Industries, Nestle, Renault—Here Are The Companies Under Fire For Russian Ties

Zelensky criticized Swiss food giant Nestle for continuing to sell goods in Russia during a video address to a rally in Switzerland, saying, “Business works in Russia even though our children are dying and our cities are being destroyed,” though Nestle, whose Russian business accounts for 2% of overall sales, maintains it only sells essential products and has suspended all advertisements and capital investment in the country.

Koch Industries, the American conglomerate that ranks as the second-largest private company in the U.S. according to Forbes’ estimates thanks $115 billion in annual revenue, stuck by its Guardian Industries subsidiary continuing to operate its two glass manufacturing facilities business in Russia Wednesday, and Koch COO Dave Robertson explained in a statement the company doesn’t want to abandon its employees in the country “or hand over these manufacturing facilities to the Russian government so it can operate and benefit from them.”

In addition to Koch Industries, at least 36 other companies have refused to scale back their Russian business operations, according to a widely cited list compiled by Yale University professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who identifies 350 companies as withdrawing from Russia or suspending operations there.

Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, is among the large firms that hasn’t pulled out from Russia: Its chief executive Thomas Gottstein said Tuesday the company is “reviewing” its Russian business ties, but the company’s $1.1 billion in exposure to Russia through loans and subsidiaries makes a withdrawal from the bank very unlikely.

French carmaker Renault also hasn’t announced any changes to its Russian business, and its reliance on the country presents significant challenges: the company has roughly 40,000 employees in Russia and accounts for about a third of the Russian car market, according to Reuters, and Renault shares have fallen by more than 30% since Russia began its war on Ukraine.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is continuing new medicine trials in Russia, after competitors Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline said this week they will not begin new clinical trials in the country.