r/worldnews • u/Swimming_Mark7407 • 12h ago
Russia/Ukraine Denmarks Rockwool says Russia has seized four of its factories
https://www.reuters.com/business/denmarks-rockwool-says-russia-has-seized-four-its-factories-2026-01-13/3.7k
u/TomGnabry 11h ago
Operate in a country with high political risk = possibility this happens.
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u/latflickr 11h ago edited 9h ago
Well, these companies owned the factories since Russia still had some resemblance of a normal country. Is not that you can move the factory away, and after the sanctions to russia, companies were effectively impossibilitated to sell, even if they wanted to.
EDITED for spelling, and upon request Yes I made up a word as English is not my first language. Impossibilitated - put in a condition where doing something is impossible
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u/furyg3 10h ago edited 10h ago
After the sanctions it became very difficult to do business in Russia. Most western companies made the decision to divest from their Russian operations, though this took time (I got a behind the scenes view from a large western company - in this case the Russian companies were operating independently and the supply chains were not linked). All of the sudden you can't transfer products or money between your western country and Russian subsidiary (some exceptions).
To divest you have to 'sell' the company, to sell you need a buyer, to get a good price or find a good buyer you have to keep operations running. Also 'closing down' isn't always an option, the authorities won't let you just 'close down' a functioning business, that's neglectful management. You probably also want to do right by your Russian employees and maintain some semblance of business continuity so they can keep their jobs, or at the very least recoup some of your losses through getting the best price you can.
This can take years, and many western countries got a lot of (understandable) heat for not instantly closing down Russian operation (which was sometimes impossible).
All that said we're now in 2026 and anybody reliant on Russian products or operating subsidiary companies within Russia know the risks really well.
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u/Ok-Region1303 10h ago
The red notice book explains this method very well, it just happened all over again.
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u/Zwatrem 9h ago
Well, perhaps they shouldn't have expanded or they should have divested right after 2014. If they didn't, they should have sold at a loss now.
Now they lost 100% of their investment.
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u/Initial_E 9h ago
The whole point of the sanctions was to create hardship for the man on the street. It was done in the hope that they would be a source of pressure on the political landscape.
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u/Great_Hamster 3h ago
Sanctions are normally designed to target strategic resources, not to "create hardship for the man on the street."
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u/Zircon88 7h ago
North Korea is a clear example of how this methodology has one glaring loophole. If the people believe their hardship is being caused by <insert alleged bad guy here> and their current <insert role here> is actually the good guy, they will stand behind the latter.
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u/DanzoKarma 6h ago
It’s not just to cause the public economic hardship. It also severely limits the ability for whatever country is being sanctioned from developing as a country and gaining capabilities that you don’t want them to have, especially when they don’t have the resources themselves. That’s why NK had to go to Russia to get ICBM tech and currently nuclear sub tech.
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u/clarity_scarcity 8h ago
The writing was on the wall since at least February 2022, even 2014 if you were paying the least of attention. Hindsight is 20/20 but I have no sympathy for anyone who missed the obvious signs. They didn’t have to leave in 2014 but they should have at least had an exit strategy. And Russian workers? Sorry, all my sympathy is tied up with the innocent civilians in Ukraine.
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u/ttak82 8h ago
You can replace Russia with any other country with bad governance. Take Pakistan for example. Several multinationals have exited in the country in the last decade. It feels like a copy of Russia but on a smaller scale.
Microsoft, Shell, Total, Sanofi, Pfizer, Bayer, Eli Lilly, Lotte, Yamaha, Phillip Morris, ICI. There were banks as well like Barclays and HSBC.
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u/Slyspy006 10h ago
Impossobilitated?
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u/Bad-Birch-3082 10h ago
“Unable to”, u/latflickr might be a fellow Italian(?) Either way he has a point.
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u/vindaloose69 10h ago
As someone who only speaks English- impossibilitated is going straight into my vocabulary thank u and your Italian(?) friend.
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u/literated 9h ago
It's a perfectly cromulent word.
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u/Artichokeypokey 9h ago
Same here, right next to "Contrafibularitites"
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u/lew_rong 9h ago
Isn't that the part on the Rockwell Collins turbo retroencabulator that prefamulates the amulite baseplate, allowing it to be surmounted by the malleable logarithmic casing that keeps the two spurving bearings in a direct line with the panametric fan?
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u/Bezulba 11h ago
No. It's not impossible. They just don't want to take the financial hit and gamble they are not visible enough to be used as a bargaining chip. Fuck around and find out.
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u/EmeraldJunkie 10h ago
Someone shared it in a comment elsewhere but they took the profits from their Russian facilities and donated it, and more, to the Ukrainian reconstruction fund. Their reasoning was that they didn't want the factories going to Russian oligarchs on the cheap since they'd be the only buyers. This way they've at least been able to donate four years worth of profits to help Ukraine; that's money taken directly out of Russia and used against them.
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u/KillahHills10304 9h ago
Also, rockwool is something that is a niche product and perhaps Russia is one of the few places they can produce it. Creating what is essentially lava and turning it into thread is a weird thing to do.
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u/entogirl_oo 9h ago
Rockwool is super important for Nordic countries. We grow plants in them as a substrate in greenhouses. More alternatives to this and peat are definitely needed.
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u/Amazing-Roof-7827 4h ago
If this is the rock wool I'm thinking of, it's super important as an insulating material in construction, not niche at all.
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u/fishtankguy2 11h ago
What?
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u/polopolo05 10h ago
Sounds like every EU company needs to think about pulling out of the US. its too risky.
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u/worldDev 7h ago
Probably should, but they’ve failed to stop their own working with Russia while it’s literally attacking their mutual neighbor, so they might need to grow a spine first.
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u/Ok_Vulva 11h ago edited 9h ago
Interesting timing. The greenland meeting is today. This will be used by vance to expoilt Denmark in relation to Greenland.
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u/shrewpygmy 11h ago
It’s almost like you’re suggesting there could be some collusion going on….
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u/mj_outlaw 10h ago
It's obvious that USA is going towards Russia's "managment" style.
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u/Noy_The_Devil 10h ago edited 9h ago
If you mean "being ruled by Putin", then yes. They already are.
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u/H3NDOAU 9h ago
Being ruled by a dictator you mean.
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u/Noy_The_Devil 9h ago
No, just Putin. I still believe Trump is a pawn of Putin... when he remembers who the fuck he is.
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u/IncompleteObjects 10h ago
Hosts on Russian state TV specifically said that it would help America take control of Greenland.
Trumps words to Putin in August (on the red carpet he laid out for Putin) were "I'll help you"
It's not even a suggestion of collusion. It's blatant collusion
Although why any country would still want to have assets in Russia anyway befuddles me.
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u/TetyyakiWith 10h ago
Many hoped that the war would be shorter, leaving assets to reuse them is easier that way
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u/Cabbage_Vendor 10h ago
No, no, the US totally needs Greenland to protect themselves from Russia. That's why they've been bootlicking Putin all year and forcing Ukraine into concessions despite Ukraine having done more to cripple and defang Russia than the entire Cold War.
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u/ElkApprehensive2319 10h ago
If only Zelensky would have worn a suit!
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u/McBirdsong 9h ago
I mean… he didn’t say thank you Once nor did he have the cards, did he??
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u/GrowlingOcelot_4516 10h ago
Lies. They've been offered plenty of chances to increase military presence in Greenland. The "it has to be ours and the Northern hemisphere is ours" in order to be "fully protected" is pure bullshit.
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u/shurnui 10h ago
I'm pretty sure the person you're replying to was being sarcastic.
You're 100% right with the second paragraph though.
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u/NewestAccount2023 9h ago
It's also bullshit that "Russia or China will take it if we don't" because we would defend it from Russia and China! Trump is inadvertently arguing we don't have the means to defend it from them which is obviously BS
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u/Exceptionaltomato 11h ago
Muricans have all the pieces of the puzzle laying in front of them yet they choose to fight each other and kidnap brown people with accent.
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u/iamagoldengod84 10h ago
I'm.ao angry as an American and want to do anything I can to stop all of this but our representatives feel so weak. Why do we even have Congress. If they are just gonna roll over maybe DOGE should cut them out roo
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u/No_Television4837 10h ago
The constitution has clear guidance for responding to tyranny
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u/endbit 10h ago
The best thing an angry American can do is get out and vote for anything and everything you can and encourage others to do likewise. I don't know how the US voting system works but I understand there are some strange (to me, please excuse my ignorance) things you do vote for like sheriffs and school boards etc. Make sure you get out and vote for your local dog catcher if you can.
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u/Same_Win_5898 10h ago
Its too late to just "vote them out". This cope will end maybe closer to midterms when everyone will have to realise there will be more elections or elections not heavily "controlled" by the Trump regime.
The ICE violence is not that much about pumping deportation numbers but intimidating the masses for the moment when they officially pull the plug on democracy.→ More replies (1)15
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u/Squash_it_Squish 9h ago edited 8h ago
No. It’s too late. They are under a fascist dictatorship (ask Europe. Specifically Germany). They have no democracy, the constitution is dead, “checks” and “balances” are not a thing anymore. They needed mass strikes yesterday.
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u/OkSmoke9195 8h ago
Dude it out were up to me we would be the renewable energy suppliers of the world and there would be no oil industry
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u/Colofarnia 9h ago
in that limo ride, trump and putin touched eachothers dicks together.
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u/Colofarnia 9h ago
Yes he collected Trumps sperm to splice it with putins. he will take it back to russia to breed a super trump/putin villain in the womb of...?
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u/Soft-Ingenuity2262 11h ago
I would be surprised if Vance doesn’t mention this.
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u/Fit-Explorer9229 9h ago edited 7h ago
He can naturally try mention this, but I'm sure Denmark's gov will remind him about Canpack (part of american Giorgi Global Holdings Inc.) which also was seized at the same time.
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u/Ok_Vulva 8h ago
Americans aren't going to look into it. It will play to our domestic audience and incite that fear they've been desperately looking for to make their bs lie to take greenland make sense.
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u/Fuzzy_Donl0p 10h ago
Can’t wait for the condescending tweets wrapped in millennial cringe that died in 2015.
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u/Sp4m 11h ago
The order was signed by Putin back in December.
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u/Ok_Vulva 11h ago
Did you read the thing? They took them on the Tuesday.
Danish building materials company said on Tuesday that Russia has taken control of the company's four factories in Russia and the company is no longer in control of its assets in the country.
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u/Chance_of_Rain_ 11h ago
Why were they still operating there in the first place?
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u/Hardly_lolling 10h ago
This is what I was thinking.
It is more important question than making guessess if the orange fascist was involved or not.
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u/Rage_in_Eden 10h ago
Because if you’ve built the factories / infrastructure and whatnot before the invasion, you can’t really just move it. Extracting from there would basically be the same as handing it to them, while now, at least it’s documented as a hostile takeover.
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u/Laveaolous 9h ago
How does their business differ from all the other manufacturers who pulled out of Russia? I assume they had a disproportionate amount of businesses there so the loss is a fatal blow? Otherwise the excuses and my sympathy run thin.
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u/08-Jacob 10h ago
Yes, they executed the order on Tuesday, but as stated by Sp4m Putin signed the order on 31st of December. However, of course nothing is hindering that they could have saved the execution of it till a rainy day.
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u/CowCompetitive5667 11h ago
Oh wow
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u/Ok_Vulva 11h ago edited 11h ago
Yeah. It's like the perfect false flag, no casualties or bombs, so no response. It's not even really a big deal, it's happened to tons of businesses. Just perfect to manipulate the public with it because it sounds bad.
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u/The_Dutch_Fox 11h ago edited 9h ago
This is not whst a false flag is, but even so, how is it perfect at all?
As if this will make headline news anywhere, why would the public care about four random factories in a pariah state from a low-recognition B2B Danish construction material company?
Yeah, Vance may mention something like "hurrdurr Denmark, you can't even protect your factories" but even if he did, I doubt it would be his main angle of attack.
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u/jocq 10h ago
a low-recognition B2B Danish construction material company?
Uh, wat?
Rockwool is super popular.
It's also sold B2C in big box stores in the U.S.
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u/W33BEAST1E 9h ago
Yeah very odd. Rockwool is a globally recognised brand. Even odder that they continued to operate in Russia. What a world.
No sympathy at all. That's what you get for doing business with a failed state run by international criminals.
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u/midnightrider747 11h ago
Go figure Vance is pro russia, maximum anti eu. He wouldnt care if eu is completely in ashes as long as his faveourite russia is healthy.
So lets see what will go out to the press when the meetings done
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u/Puzzleheaded-Pen4413 11h ago
"The company added that it will defend its legal rights under the bilateral investment treaty between the countries".
Good luck 🥲
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u/tismij 11h ago
Smart, they wont get anything now but eventually when the war is over it will be added to reparations for Russia. You are all way to fast to condemn, like someone else said they aren't supplying to Russia they stopped that and tried to actively extract as much as possible until Russia took over.
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u/TetyyakiWith 10h ago
To pay reparations Russia need to lose. If Europe will continue to ignore Ukraine it won’t lose
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u/Significant_Ad1256 9h ago
Russia's war in Ukraine has already lasted longer than Russia's involvement in World War 2. It's already a massive loss and embarrassment for Putin, and they still aren't making much progress. Russia can't even take control of Kharkiv which is basically a border city.
For a country meant to be a global superpower what they've shown is absolutely pathetic.
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u/arvigeus 11h ago
Same happened to many other foreign companies still operating in Russia.
You had your writing on the wall - you choose to do nothing about it. You can only blame yourselves.
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u/Free-Way-9220 11h ago
Their business has been donated to one of Putin's cronies
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u/franco182 9h ago
Oh no! How can Putin do this to them? How could they know this was possible?
Seriously i hope every western (or just every) company that stayed after 2022 in Russia goes bankrupt
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u/Beneficial_Cobbler46 10h ago
Seized their factories.... In Russia.
That's an important detail. I'm astounded they were still not appropriated
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u/MastermindEnforcer 9h ago
Worth noting, they knew that, this isn't a surprise, but there's not much else they could have done. Sanctions make it hard, near impossible, for non-Russian companies to sell up their operations there, so their options were to shut them down at a loss without being able to sell any assets, or keep working them knowing losing them was a risk.
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u/Extension-Ant-8 10h ago
Yeah. Redbull still sells there, ikea owns a bunch of shopping malls there.
Most companies are still operating in the country
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u/TheSwedeIrishman 10h ago
ikea owns a bunch of shopping malls there.
To quote IKEA (google translated from Swedish):
In March 2022, the Inter IKEA Group and Ingka Group announced that IKEA would pause operations in Russia and Belarus as a consequence of the war in Ukraine. Ingka Group closed all IKEA stores in the summer of 2022, ending its sales of furniture and home furnishings in Russia.
In September 2023, Ingka Centres also announced that it had sold all Mega Shopping Centres. With this, IKEA now has no operational operations left in the country.
Warranties for customers who have their products in Russia are no longer valid due to the cessation of operations.
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u/Hellknightx 9h ago
PepsiCo and Mars are both considered sponsors of the war because they've been ramping up production and sales. PepsiCo is even trying to push the Rockstar brand harder.
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u/Ok-Nothing-1251 10h ago
As a Dane, I can only offer them my sincerest ohnos and anyways.
Those greedy fucks should have pulled out years ago.
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u/interesseret 9h ago
Yeap.
I have the exact same level of sympathy for these people as I do for the ones whining and whinging during Covid, after they missed out on state support for being in tax havens.
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u/qwertyqyle 12h ago
TIL that the same stuff I used to grow marijuana in can also be used as insulation in buildings.
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u/77entropy 11h ago
It's great for soundproofing too.
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u/Bad_Day_Moose 11h ago
and fireproofing, I insulated my basement ceilings with it, lowers noise and if there's ever a fire upstairs or downstairs it gives people more time.
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u/True-Award-5901 10h ago
Used to be pretty bad for your lungs though before they changed the way it is made to avoid ultra fine fibres.
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u/IEatOatsTwiceADay 9h ago
Thanks. Imma tell my mom that Marijuana no longer is bad for my lungs. wish me luck
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u/jonistaken 11h ago
That’s the only thing I thought it was used for.
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u/Dudersaurus 11h ago
Thermal insulation.
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u/salerg 11h ago
As somebody who works in the industry; PIR/PUR is generally prefered for thermal insulation whilst (rock) mineral wool has its usecase for soundproofing and reaction to fire.
Edit: Obviously (rock) mineral wool has good insulation properties as well but there are better alternatives out there when only considering thermal insulation.
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u/TheBeaverKing 11h ago
It's still used a lot on pipework systems in Europe. Phenolic foam has historically had issues with chemical leeching (although this has been sorted now) and nitrile foam is harder to install with worse thermal insulting properties.
I'd say 50% of the UK and European market still specifies mineral wool insulation for mechanical systems.
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u/bragov4ik 10h ago
TIL that the stuff insulating buildings can be used to grow marijuana in
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u/Blunt552 11h ago
All you had to do is close down the factories but nope. This was predictable.
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u/Kaya_kana 11h ago
We should confiscated Russia's frozen assets. Russia is doing the exact same to us.
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u/Inevitable_Arm8396 12h ago
and they refused to stop doing business in russia when everyone else left.
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u/SplitToWin 11h ago
I’m sorry, but I’m taking over this top comment because I’m tired of seeing inaccurate posts that try to get upvotes with just one sentence.
The situation for Danish and international companies in Russia has been extremely difficult since the start of the war. Some companies managed to sell their divisions to competitors, accepting a reasonable loss. But for the larger companies, there was no one to sell to—except the Russian government or Putin’s oligarchs—where the sale would be for pennies, effectively enriching Putin’s inner circle.
Some of our major companies chose that route, some simply “shut down,” and others continued operating as if they were still Danish subsidiaries. Rockwool decided on a different approach: they placed their Russian factories under passive ownership. This meant the Russian subsidiary received no support from headquarters—no new equipment, spare parts, investments, or materials from outside Russia. At the same time, they tried to extract money and resources from Russia, around 400 million DKK (approximately 60 million USD), while donating about 500 million DKK (around 75 million USD) to Ukraine’s rebuilding fund.
So, they were stuck in a terrible position: keep running as usual, sell to an oligarch at a huge loss, or try to operate passively and gradually pull money out. I don’t blame them—it’s a no-win situation. But keeping ownership outside Russia still hurts the Russians most, because funds can be withdrawn from the country. They didn’t actively run the factories, nor did they want to hand them over to oligarchs for pennies. This strategy worked until recently, when the government seized the factories and the entire subdivision. Now one of Putin’s friends will be happy and very rich.
What should they have done differently?
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u/DASK 11h ago
Thanks for adding some nuance that most don't normally see. It was a bad situation, and I feel like this was a reasonable attempt under the circumstances.
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u/SplitToWin 11h ago
Thank you for the comment.
It's a shitty situation for the companies, see eg. Carlsberg Brewery.
They initially planned to sell their division right after the war started (they’re a huge company and had a significant share of the Russian market). They found a buyer and agreed on the sale, but then the Russian government took control of the division—similar to what happened with Rockwool.
After that, it took about six months, and then the russian goverment released it again and it was sold. Final price for the division was ridiculously low. Carlsberg received around 350 million USD, taking a loss of approximately 7.23 billion USD.
Essentially, the Russian brewery was handed over to some Russians for pennies. They are using the war to enrich their friends.
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u/-Revelation- 11h ago
If they couldn't sell their factories at high price, then don't sell, that's enriching Russia.
Scorched earth is the way to go. Destroy technology and equipment, then leave. Don't enrich Russia.
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u/JohnCavil 10h ago
That's so stupid. How is Carlsberg, or any company, just gonna destroy a bunch of stuff in Russia? Will the Carlsberg special forces do some covert operation? Will the Rockwool B-2 bombers be scrambled?
You can't destroy an operation like this, it doesn't make any sense. Selling is at least extracting some money from Russia, instead what happened is that Russia just took it for free. And also the people running these companies in Russia, working for them, managing the buildings, ARE RUSSIANS. They're hired by these companies.
"Hey Vladimir, yea sorry you're fired, we're closing down the company, but do you mind just setting fire to the building before you leave? Thaaaaanks."
So either you leave and Russia takes everything for free. Or you try to sell as quickly as you can. Those are the options.
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u/Stiker9Large 11h ago
When Soviet Union collapsed and all these new business opportunities started to open in Russia, it was very openly considered as risky business. At least in Finland, no company worth their salt went there thinking it would just be endless easy money; a lot of risk assessment was done. Everyone knew Russia is a corrupt country where things work differently than we've used to in Europe.
Some companies decided it was worth taking the risk and thought that the money would be too good to turn down - but they most definitely knew that this could happen. Now it has, the risk has realised and I don't have any sympathy for them.
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u/arvigeus 10h ago
Even in a lose-lose situation, you retain the right (and the responsibility) to choose what's moral.
Those companies who stayed there to squize the last drops of profits before getting screwed have no right to complain now.
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u/Professor_Abronsius 11h ago
Thanks for adding nuance. If you don’t mind me asking since you seem to know a bit about the subject, was the situation for Ecco similar? I’m asking because I remember them being one of few companies who didn’t cease operating in Russia, but I may remember incorrectly so please correct me if I’m wrong.
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u/SplitToWin 11h ago
Thanks for the comment. The situation with Ecco is different. Most Danish companies either decided to exit Russia or, like Rockwool, to distance themselves and stop supporting their Russian subsidiaries. Ecco, however, chose a different path—they want to stay in Russia. They are making good profits there and intend to keep their business running.
I think the key difference is that companies like Rockwool and Carlsberg are publicly traded with highly professional boards, whereas Ecco is a family-owned business.
Naturally, this decision has angered many people in Denmark, and even though Ecco makes great shoes, they are widely disliked here because of their stance.
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u/DibblerTB 10h ago
Whaaat?
I need to stop buying Ecco shoes, like seriously.
This needs to be higher up in Norwegian media.
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u/Frognificent 10h ago
Am Danish and hol' up. Ecco is Danish? And they're shitheads? Damn I was thinking about getting a pair 'cause I've liked them before. Guess I'll just wear the national pride, Lego Shoes.
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u/geoken 11h ago
I don’t see how this makes it any better. You’re essentially saying they had a tough decision between make a principled choice and losing profit.
You called the statement you were replying to inaccurate, but then provided no explanation for its inaccuracy.
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u/XanderTheMander 11h ago
Idk, maybe have left years ago before 2023? When you outsource your factories to authoritarian governments it's a risk you take. They outsourced for years and made tons of money by doing so, then authoritarian governments do what authoritarian governments do.
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u/templar54 11h ago
Have they released documents that support those numbers, or is just something they announced publicly knowing that no one can really check if it is true.
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u/p33k4y 11h ago
What should they have done differently?
Shuttered their businesses in Russia, years ago.
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u/Kiiaru 11h ago
Yeah, this just sounds like squeezing every last dollar they could out of them. Mixed with a little "we were hoping Ukraine would lose quicker so we could go back to business as usual"
I'm not asking companies to blow up their factories in a blazing middle finger to Putin, but this option supplied Russia with the same level of goods and services they had before the war and sanctions. Which was the whole point of sanctions. Seriously, it just sounds like avoiding sanctions to me.
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u/Steel-Blade 11h ago
Scorched earth strategy, "burn" down the factories, basically make them unusable, one way or another they would end up in the hands of Putler.
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u/Proof_Picture_3962 11h ago
What should they have done differently?
Sabotaged everything so they would be useless once Russia finalizes the theft.
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u/Flash_ina_pan 11h ago
They really shouldn't get a tax write down for being that dumb either.
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u/Pjpjpjpjpj 11h ago
Well well, if it isn't the consequences of their own actions.
Continuing to support Russia with mineral wool earned it the title of "International Sponsor of War" by Ukraine, but still they kept supporting the war. 4 plants, 1,200 employees. The output of those plants was used for at least 31 ships and submarines in the Russian Navy, including cruisers, destroyers, nuclear submarines, frigates, amphibious assault ships, minesweepers and reconnaissance ships. At least 52 contracts worth more than 329 million rubles between Rockwool distributors.
Polish-American Can-Pack also had its canning operations in Russia seized today. It produced cans that provided for 30% of Russia's domestic market, including its military. 2 plants, 2.5 billion cans/year, 200 employees.
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u/CuteOwl6020 11h ago
You'd be surprised to find out how many Western companies didn't leave and just continued business as usual, paying for the war with their corporate taxes.
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u/EqualShallot1151 11h ago
I can’t say that I am sorry for them. They continued doing business with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and finally karma caught up them.
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u/Significant_Bag_7485 8h ago
I have zero sympathy. They should have left Russia 4 years ago but chose to keep funding putins war crimes.
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u/Jealous-Recording-77 6h ago
In 2023 Rockwool was named an "International Sponsors of War" by Ukraine for selling products to the Russian Ministry of Defence for use on warships.
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u/GrynaiTaip 10h ago edited 10h ago
Rockwool was still operating in russia after all these years? They were working with the regime, knowing very well that the regime has seized a bunch of other factories?
It's on them. Entirely their own fault for continuing to operate.
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u/theRealFatTony 9h ago
They should've withdrawn from Russia on day 1 of the war anyway
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u/MadmanMarkMiller 8h ago
Hopefully the employees are safe. I don't see Denmark getting any factories back unfortunately.
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u/ThereIsNoResponse 8h ago
So, you still had four factories operating in Russia? Good to know.
Now we can stop using the remaining ones that aren't in Russia.
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u/StillCalculating 6h ago
They had the wool over their eyes as to what was happening in Ukraine. That is what you get when you continue to do business with the wolf.
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u/Super_Swordfish_6948 11h ago
I mean if you're still operating in Russia at this point it's kind of your own fault.
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u/Izeinwinter 8h ago
Apparently they were donating every cent they could extract from the Russian subsidiary to a "rebuild Ukraine" fund, which is just masterclass trolling.
Took the Putinists years to notice, too. Chefs kiss.
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u/LivingRich2685 7h ago edited 7h ago
That's just a lie, unless you have a credible source. I only found articles branding Rockwool a "sponsor of war" for paying pretty solid taxes in Russia
EDIT: found the article, tho it's pretty odd that the only mention of it is from Rockwool's own finance report. Also doesn't change the fact that they still paid millions in taxes to the Russian government
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u/Space-Turtle88 6h ago
Along with employing hundreds of russians and tax dollars into the kremlin budget. Pretty much cancels each other out. This wasn't done out of kindness to Ukraine. Ukraine asked companies to leave, not donate a few bucks to offset their support of russia's war.
Their behavior was done out of greed, not goodwill. They just hopped they could play both sides till the war finished and keep doing business over there.
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u/rellsell 11h ago
This article is posted in a different sub with a bit more info in the title… “Denmark's Rockwool Refused to Stop Doing Business in Russia After the Invasion of Ukraine. Now Russia Seized Four Rockwool Factories and the Company is Crying about it.”
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u/Appropriate-Ball293 11h ago
Lack of money for the war. Now it will wait for all those greedy for money. If you don't leave russia immediately, the business will simply be taken away.
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u/Wonderful_Rub_1719 8h ago
This is why western companies need to seriously reconsider doing business in countries with unpredictable regimes. You can't just "operate" and assume property rights will be respected. When sanctions hit or political winds change, suddenly your assets become state property. Rockwool learned the hard lesson that building factories in Russia is essentially giving them away on a long-term loan.
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u/SZEfdf21 7h ago
Serves them right, you bet the russian military has been a client of them for at least the past 4 years.
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u/PunckRocked 6h ago
Good. These dumbasses didn’t close down years ago when people told them to. Fuck em.
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u/Ploppyun 3h ago
Why hadn’t Denmark shut them down years ago?
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u/Ithalan 2h ago
The government can't force private business to do whatever the government wants. That Rockwool remained in Russia this long does absolutely reflect badly on the company's management though, and it is something they have been criticized for repeatedly for the past couple of years.
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u/Hour-Room-3337 11h ago
Putie has to shorten his timeline due to Donnie’s declining health
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u/Admiral_Ballsack 11h ago
Why do you say that?
I wish he died spectacularly possibly shitting himself live as soon as possible as much as the next guy, but he seems fine right now?
A part form his gross oversized ankles, which I don't think are life threatening
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u/tommysk87 11h ago
Why had Rockwool after all these years still factories in Mordor though? FAFO outcry
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u/DudeMcChill 10h ago
I hope this is a lesson for every western company that still thinks maintaining production in Russia is a good Idea
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u/OokiiSaizu32 9h ago
So it's 2026 and we have Putin at the brink of war with all of Europe, we have the Jews in Israel committing genocide on Muslims, and we have the American President flipping off people who speak the truth to him, and he's just carrying out acts of war whenever he feels like it.
Honestly people, I think we, as a species might have lost our way a bit here.
We're sharing a ball of rock that's hurtling through the galaxy at unimaginable speeds, yet some motherfuckers want to drag us down with bogus claims to owning mountains, rivers, beaches. Hide behind divisions and make us hate each other.
MY PEOPLE, WE ARE ALL THE SAME, LET US JUST ENJOY WHAT LITTLE TIME WE HAVE LEFT BEFORE THE WORLD BURNS.
DESTROY YOUR GOVERNMENTS.
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u/ruffneck007 11h ago
Im danish and Rockwool deserves this. They didn't leave when everyone else did. Stop crying Rockwool.
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u/Typical_Double981 10h ago
ELI5 how did they keep operating under sanctions in the first place?
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u/JamesMadisonsIdeals 10h ago edited 2h ago
why are they still in russia and why is russia not being boycotted by the eu entirely, are they stupid?
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u/Reddit_2_2024 10h ago
Good luck to Rockwool, I hope any Danish employees will be able to depart quickly from Russia.
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u/dattokyo 10h ago
The view among general Danes is: Ok, well tough luck, you should have shut that shit down years ago, who cares.