Yahoo Finance HPE halts shipments to Russia, CEO says situation completely unacceptable
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri wasted no time severing his business from Russia in light of the country's invasion of Ukraine.
The computing giant halted shipments to Russia 72 hours ago, Neri said on Yahoo Finance Live.
"Obviously it is incredibly concerning this humanitarian situation and this what I call completely unacceptable set of events. We have to really think through this and put the humanity at the core and the business second," Neri explained.
To be sure, Neri — fresh off a strong quarter and outlook — isn't alone in putting humanity first over profits.
Corporate America and a growing number of multinational companies have joined in protest of Moscow’s military attack on Ukraine, moving to cut business dealings with Russia or take a stand in support for Ukrainian refugees. The list of big-name companies range from furniture seller Ikea to credit card player American Express to PC maker HP Inc.
Those actions come alongside moves by the West and its allies to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment network and sanctions on the Central Bank of Russia.
A sharper economic fallout is underway for Russia as a result, JPMorgan strategists warned.
Neri said he will need to see a lot from Russia before even considering restarting shipments to the country.
"We have to follow the global trade compliance, the sanctions have been enacted. And obviously we are going to be 150% aligned to that. But, as a leader of the company the first thing you want to think about before you go into the business is solve the current conflict which again, was unprovoked and completely unacceptable," Neri added.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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