By ANTHONY SALAMONE THE MORNING CALL
Air Products is developing plans and will implement a “safe and responsible divestiture” of its business in Russia, company CEO Seifi Ghasemi said in a statement to employees and released to The Morning Call.
Ghasemi also said the company has decided not to pursue any new business in the country.
“As always, we continue to review developing and applicable sanctions to ensure our ongoing compliance,” he said.
President Joe Biden has not mandated that American businesses exit the country since the war began Feb. 24, but in a video speech Wednesday to Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged lawmakers to compel Air Products and other such companies to leave Russia.
Ghasemi’s six-paragraph statement marked the company’s first public comment since a Yale University School of Management report revealed the Lehigh Valley industrial gases giant was one of about three dozen American companies continuing to do business as usual in Russia since its leader, Vladimir Putin, declared war on neighboring Ukraine.
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Some 147 U.S. corporations announced they were pulling out of Russia entirely, according to a recent AP story on the Yale list. That list continues to grow: Baker Hughes, a major oil services company made its announcement Saturday, one day after similar moves by oil rivals Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger.
Another 173 U.S. companies said they would suspend operations in Russia. With support in the West strong for Ukraine, and threats of boycotts of companies still doing business there, roughly another 70 American companies have said they are scaling back operations or holding off new investment but remaining.
Ghasemi’s statement shed light on Air Products’ plans and left little doubt about the Fortune 500 company’s position on the war.
“We continue to be deeply concerned by the tragic human suffering being experienced by the people of Ukraine and the impact it has on many others,” he said. “We condemn actions of war when the world should be making greater efforts for peace.”
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