The food giant Nestlé, which continues certain activities in Russia, was the subject of calls for a boycott on Friday on social networks. Parodic images accusing the group of tacit support for the action of Vladimir Putin flourished.
The Vaudois group did not respond to the request of the Ukrainian Prime Minister to cease all activity in Russia.
The hashtag “#boycottnestle” was spreading like wildfire on Twitter. Among the images targeting Nestlé, there was in particular a diversion of its logo, where the emblematic nest is watched over by a bird covered with a Nazi armband adorned with a “Z” as a swastika. The Z is the symbol worn by Russian troops taking part in the invasion of Ukraine.
Other hijacked marketing images presented Nestlé as the “official sponsor” of the Russian invasion, once morest a backdrop of photos of hospitals devastated by bombs, while the offended comments rained down.
The accusations echo a Thursday exchange between Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shymhal and Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider. “Paying taxes that will feed the budget of a terrorist country is equivalent to killing defenseless children and mothers,” wrote the Prime Minister on his Twitter account, adding that he hopes Nestlé will change its mind soon.
A few hours later, it was the turn of Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to insist on Twitter as well. “By refusing to cease its business activities in Russia, Nestlé is allowing Russia’s war of aggression in Europe to continue. The long-term damage to the company’s reputation is proportional to the scale of the war crimes Russians in Ukraine (huge).”
“We consider conversations with government authorities to be private,” a spokeswoman for the Veveysan group told AWP regarding the meeting between its CEO and the Ukrainian prime minister.
1.7 billion revenue
“As an employer, we are responsible for our more than 7,000 employees in Russia,” the spokeswoman added. “It would sadden us greatly if our colleagues were dependent on others. That explains our decision.”
On March 11, Nestlé announced the suspension of the delivery of certain foods to Russia, including Nespresso. However, this decision provides for exceptions concerning basic necessities such as baby food or cereals.
In 2021, Nestlé generated 1.7 billion francs in revenue in Russia, or around 2% of the total, according to the Bloomberg agency.
On the stock market, investors seemed relatively indifferent to these controversies. After retreating at the start of the session this morning, the Nestlé stock recovered. At 2:18 p.m., the action took 0.5% to 119.48 francs.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats/awp
