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November 28, 2024 | 05:00 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher revealed in an interview on Tuesday, November 26, that the company was compelled to withdraw from Russia due to the loss of control over its operations in the face of stringent Western sanctions.
“Exiting Russia was a difficult decision to make,” Schumacher said, emphasizing that the departure was not solely driven by the Ukraine war but rather by the complexity of sanctions imposed by Western nations and Russia's retaliatory measures.
The British consumer-goods giant encountered challenges in repatriating its funds from Russia. Before making the final decision, the company conducted a thorough assessment of its performance and brand portfolio.
“I didn’t see a window into the near future where we would regain that control and that drove the decision to exit,” Schumacher said in an interview with Bloomberg Television as cited by Russia Today.
Unilever's complete exit from Russia in October 2024 involved the sale of all its businesses to the Arnest Group, a Russian manufacturing company specializing in perfumes, cosmetics, and household products. Despite having four factories and employing approximately 3,000 workers in Russia, Unilever ultimately decided to divest its operations.
Prior to the exit, Unilever was one of the few multinational companies still operating in Russia, alongside Nestle SA, PepsiCo, and Mondelez. The company faced sharp criticism for its continued presence in Russia, particularly after numerous foreign companies withdrew following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
“I found that in my last one-and-a-half years, it was arguably the most difficult decision to make,” Schumacher said, highlighting Unilever's ‘tedious’ departure process, which extended over a year.
According to Moscow's divestment regulations in 2023, foreign companies seeking to exit Russia were required to obtain government approval to sell their assets at a 50% discount and pay an exit tax ranging from 10% to 15%.
Russia Today
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