Koch Industries Will Continue to Operate Factories in Russia

Koch Industries, the industrial conglomerate run by the billionaire Charles Koch, has said it will continue to operate factories in Russia as other companies pull out after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Dave Robertson, the president and chief operating officer, said in a statement dated Wednesday that the aggression in Ukraine was an “affront to humanity,” but that Koch would not stop operating two Russian glass factories in its Guardian Industries unit.

Guardian’s business employs 600 people and makes up a small portion of the privately held company, which had estimated revenue of $115 billion last year. Koch Industries will “not walk away from our employees there or hand over these manufacturing facilities to the Russian government so it can operate and benefit from them,” Mr. Robertson said.

In recent days, dozens of large corporations, including British American Tobacco, McDonald’s and Ikea, have said they were temporarily suspending sales, closing stores or winding down operations in Russia. Many had invested millions or billions of dollars in the country in recent decades.

Last week, the Russian government warned that it could nationalize the assets of Western companies that were pulling out of Russia and told its leaders to “act decisively” to preserve jobs in the country as its economy crumbled.

Since the conflict started, Koch Industries has provided financial assistance to employees and their families in Ukraine and will continue to do so, Mr. Robertson said.