Liebherr has posted a formal statement on the lead page of its global website regarding the situation in Ukraine.

The statement is as follows:

“All of us at Liebherr share the concern for the safety of the people in the affected regions as well as the worry about the humanitarian repercussions of the war. We hope for an immediate de-escalation and end to the war.

The Liebherr Group supports the sanctions imposed on Russia. We are currently implementing these extensive sanction measures. This will have an impact on Liebherr’s business in Russia. Since the situation is highly dynamic, it is too early to make concrete statements as to the extent of this impact. Therefore, we cannot conduct a final assessment at this point in time.

The Liebherr Group’s parent company is making donations to the Swiss Red Cross (SCR) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to support both organizations’ efforts to support the people in the war zone as well as refugees.”

Vertikal Comment

This statement would not have been issued lightly. Liebherr has been a significant investor in Russia since 1965 and today Russia is one of the company’s largest sales markets. The founder Hans Liebherr repeatedly stressed his close association with Russia and its peoples and was one of the first German entrepreneurs to establish relationships which what was the then Soviet Union, following the second world war.

Today, Liebherr operates two major manufacturing plants in Dzerzhinsk, Russia, one of which produces earthmoving equipment and components, while the other is a member of its Aerospace division. It also has a Moscow based sales and service company – Liebherr-Russland OOO – which operate from 30 locations across all of the Russian regions, with a total of around 1,250 employees.

We echo and share the sentiments contained within this statement and hope for a swift end to this tragic war, which benefits no one.

Source: Vertikal