News / Ukraine
Major Bristol firm boycotts operations in Russia
A tobacco company headquartered in Bristol is the latest firm to join a rush of global brands halting activities in Russia.
Imperial Brands announced they have suspended all operations in Russia, including stopping production at their factory in Volgograd and ceasing sales and marketing activity.
Imperial, the world’s fourth largest tobacco company, said the decision was due to the “highly challenging environment” in eastern Europe.
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A raft of major economic sanctions have been imposed on Russia by the West as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
The number of companies calling to halt trading or other operations has snowballed, with giants such as Apple, Microsoft, McDonald’s and Starbucks all withdrawing their activities from Russia.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Imperial wrote: “Following recent developments, we have today suspended all operations in Russia. This includes halting production at our factory in Volgograd and ceasing all sales and marketing activity.
“This decision comes amid a highly challenging environment in Russia as a result of international sanctions and consequential severe disruption. We will be supporting our Russian employees, who continue to be paid while operations are paused.
“We have already suspended our operations in Ukraine in order to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our 600 employees in that country.
“Russia and Ukraine are relatively small markets in the context of the Group, in total representing around 2 per cent of net revenues and 0.5 per cent of adjusted operating profit in FY21.”
The Tobacco Factory was part of a large industrial site that has almost completely vanished today – photo: Martin Booth
Imperial Tobacco was formed in 1901 by a merger of 13 leading British tobacco firms.
One of Imperial’s founding companies was Wills, a tobacco manufacturing company which began life in a shop on Castle Street in what is now Castle Park.
Thousands of people once worked in its former factories in Bedminster, one of which is now theatre, cafe and bar the Tobacco Factory.
Imperial’s headquarters today are located on Winterstoke Road close to Ashton Gate Stadium.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read more: Voi shows solidarity with Ukraine while also having links with Russia
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