Apple, Ford Lead Latest Round Of US Companies Cutting Russia Ties

As another market day comes to an end in the US, another flurry of American companies have announced plans to cut ties with Russian business partners, or simply stop selling their products in the Russian Federation. These companies include Apple, Nike, Ford and others, all of whom have released statements on Tuesday.

For starters, Apple has halted all product sales in Russia, while halting exports to Russia sales channels. It’s also pulling RT News and Sputnik News from App Stores outside of Russia, and is disabling traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine.

Here’s the full Apple statement on Russia, where it announced plans to limit Apple Pay and other services, while taking other steps to protect Ukrainians and their interests.

“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence. We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region. We have taken a number of actions in response to the invasion. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country.”

“Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens. We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking. We join all those around the world who are calling for peace.”

Apple described the decision as an attempt to protect the “safety and precautionary measure” for citizens in Ukraine. However, as one Bloomberg presenter pointed out, the move is largely symbolic.

Moving on, like Shell and BP divesting their Russian assets, Ford also said it would “suspend” its joint venture in Russia and instead find ways to support “Ukrainian nationals”, in part by making a large ($100K) donation to “the Global Giving Ukraine Relief Fund”.

As part of the global community, Ford is deeply concerned about the invasion of Ukraine and the resultant threats to peace and stability. The situation has compelled us to reassess our operations in Russia. In recent years, Ford has significantly wound down its Russian operations, which now focus exclusively on commercial van manufacturing and Russian sales through a minority interest in the Sollers Ford joint venture. Given the situation, we have today informed our JV partners that we are suspending our operations in Russia, effective immediately, until further notice.

While we don’t have significant operations in Ukraine, we do have a strong contingent of Ukrainian nationals working at Ford around the world and we will continue to support them through this time.

Ford Fund is also making a $100,000 donation to the Global Giving Ukraine Relief Fund for humanitarian aid to assist Ukrainian citizens and families who have been displaced during this crisis.

Athletic wear juggernaut Nike has closed its online stores and said it won’t sell any new merchandise in Russia because it can no longer “guarantee” delivery.

Nike made the announcement on its Russian website. It wasn’t immediately clear if the change was a new corporate policy or the result of supply-chain difficulties following the nation’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Nike didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, per Bloomberg.

Also on the tech front, Snap Inc., owner of Snapchat, the popular social media app, won’t be running any more Russian advertising.

Finally, social messaging and media app Snapchat, owned by parent company Snap Inc., said it had stopped running all advertising in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and is halting ad sales to all Russian and Belarusian entities as part of “complying with all sanctions targeting Russian businesses and individuals.”

The company has continued to offer the app in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus because it “remains an important communications tool for family and friends.”

The company noted that Ukraine is the birthplace of Looksery, the company whose technology laid the foundation for Snap’s augmented reality platform, “and has been the home of more than 300 of Snap’s most creative and talented team members.” That includes both Snap employees currently based in Ukraine as well as those who are from Ukraine originally and now live elsewhere.

Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta are facing potential blowback from the Russian government after both companies cut off RT and other allegedly state-backed broadcasters from their platforms, angering the Kremlin, which has railed about the possibility of passing laws to punish these moves.

 But the real big question is: with all the US companies rushing to cut financial ties with Russia, does all this risk backfiring?