Ukraine crisis
Multinationals stay put, but have contingency plans
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BERLIN/PARIS • Big US and European companies operating on the ground in Ukraine said that they had contingency plans at the ready in case of a Russian invasion but so far had not ordered the relocation of employees.
Even as Western leaders gave warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin may order an attack on Ukraine, executives at the multinational companies, for the most part, do not believe Russian troops will actually follow through with a ground invasion, said Ms Anna Derevyanko, deputy director of the European Business Association.
"Companies have put in place contingency plans, but they do not believe something terrible is going to happen," said Ms Derevyanko, whose association includes Nestle, BASF, ArcelorMittal, Bayer and more than 1,000 European firms that employ more than two million people in Ukraine.
"If you ask business people, they believe that a physical invasion is a low-risk scenario," she added. "There is no sense of panic."
The prospect of cyber attacks, on the other hand, is more worrisome. Government websites, state-owned banks and parts of the nation's infrastructure have battled online invasions by hackers, believed by Ukrainians to be Russians, looking to disable computers and steal data.
European and US companies in Ukraine see digital attacks as one of the major threats they must deal with and have moved to strengthen their cyber security, Ms Derevyanko said.
More than 90 per cent of the tech companies surveyed this month assessed the risk of an escalation of the conflict as low to medium, said IT Ukraine Association - which includes local and international tech companies - noting that none had prepared for a full relocation.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine said that its 633 members, which include 3M, Toyota and Citibank, continued to do business but had contingency plans to continue working in the event of an emergency.
Most of the member companies made their plans long ago but continue to update and review them, said Mr Andy Hunder, president of the business association.
NYTIMES