Henkel engaged in extensive aid and support program and has decided to exit Russia
April 2022
At Henkel, we condemn the Russian war against Ukraine and the violence against innocent civilians. We stand behind the call of the global community on Russia to immediately withdraw its military forces from Ukraine.
In these difficult times, our primary concern is the safety of our 600 colleagues and their families in Ukraine. We are in constant contact with our crisis teams, have immediately mobilized support and provided donations.
Since the beginning of the war, we have been doing everything we can to support our employees in this dramatic situation.
Extensive aid and support program for our colleagues and the people in the region
Within the first 48 hours, we launched a solidarity aid program of more than 1 million euros. A substantial part went directly to our Ukrainian colleagues as emergency financial aid. We are also offering all Henkel refugees and their families safe accommodation. On top, we are supporting Henkel employees who volunteer at the borders by giving them paid time off. The solidarity aid program also included a donation to the International Red Cross as well as in-kind and product donations to help the affected people in the region.
We have meanwhile extended the volume of our solidarity aid program to a total of more than 5 million euros containing product donations and a comprehensive cooperation with our long-term social partner “Habitat for Humanity”.
Great commitment and solidarity of our employees
We are impressed by the great solidarity and commitment with which Henkel employees are helping the people from Ukraine. They organize fundraising campaigns, arrange accommodation for refugees or make private donations to aid organizations. To date, more than 100,000 euros have been collected in private donations alone. And we have doubled that amount via the Fritz Henkel Stiftung Foundation.
We have decided to exit our business activities in Russia
Over the past weeks the war in Ukraine and our position on our business in Russia have led to many questions and also controversial discussions – both internally and externally. We have been engaged in an intensive dialog at the Management Board and our supervising bodies as well as with our partners, other companies and various stakeholders.
Of course, we fully comply with all applicable sanctions against Russia. Furthermore, we have stopped at an early stage all planned investments in Russia – for example for site expansions, and have also stopped all advertising in media and all sponsorship activities.
Against the background of the current developments, we have decided to exit our business activities in Russia. The execution process is now being prepared. We will work closely with our teams in Russia on the details to ensure an orderly process. In the meantime, our 2,500 employees in Russia will continue to be employed and paid.
Furthermore, we have decided to exit our business activities in Belarus where we employ around 100 employees.
As a global company with colleagues from more than 120 nations, we firmly believe that mutual respect, humanity and the peaceful resolution of conflicts must prevail!
