Unofficial translation by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre; German original (PDF) available via the above download button.

Knauf Group

Statement on the current media coverage

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Thank you very much for your enquiry. We would like to respond to your questions in their entirety as follows:

1. Knauf condemns Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine, which is contrary to international law.

Knauf rejects this war and does not support it in any form. In addition to our concern for our almost 400 employees in Ukraine, we also bear responsibility for the approximately 4,000 employees in Russia. In the SPIEGEL report you mentioned, it was implied that Knauf was actively supporting the warfare by organising the conscription of employees for military service for the Russian side in our factories on our own initiative. This allegation is false. We have contradicted it in several instances.

Therefore, once again, we decisively reject the accusation of compliant or even active support of the war effort or the military apparatus.

To clarify: The Russian Knauf enterprise in Krasnogorsk received a letter at the end of September which contained the summoning of ten employees to a rotational military exercise for reservists which takes place every three years. Thus, this was not about the general partial mobilisation in Russia. The names of the employees were provided to the company by the relevant authority. In Russia, conscriptions, even for regular military exercises, are usually sent through the employer. Another five employees were called up to organise the military exercise on the orders of the Russian authorities. In the end, the persons concerned did not attend the military exercise because it was cancelled at short notice by the authorities. In the context of the partial mobilisation in Russia, five of the approximately 4,000 Knauf employees have been called up for military service so far.

All of these commitments are based on local law, and local employees face serious penalties if they do not comply. Knauf is required by local law to pass on the information to employees. We do not have any influence on the registration of the reservists and emphasise that there has been no selection among the employees by Knauf in this process. Our local management receives ongoing legal advice on the issue of compliance with their legal obligations.

Apart from the events in Krasnogorsk, employees in Ukraine were also conscripted into military service with the Ukrainian armed forces at the beginning of the war or volunteered. Knauf continues to pay the salaries of these employees.

2. Knauf as a group of companies has been massively damaged by the fighting in Ukraine.

The openly or implicitly expressed accusation of war support is already absurd because the Knauf Group is also active in Ukraine and has been massively damaged by the acts of war.

In spring, the largest Eastern European Knauf plant in Soledar in the Donbass already had to stop production. The plant, in which Knauf has invested around 200 million euros, has been largely destroyed.

https://twitter.com/200_zoka/status/1558909513507405824?lang=de

https://www.facebook.com/bild/videos/putins-truppen-erobern-bayerische-fabrik-bild-lagezentrum/1502164450204923/ (especially from approx. 2 min. 30)

Whether it will ever be possible to produce there again cannot be predicted at present. After the destruction, Knauf restarted and expanded its decommissioned plant in Kiev and offered all employees from Soledar a job there. Immediately after the outbreak of war, we sent employees working in Ukraine in regions affected by fighting home and paid three months' salary in advance. Twenty-three of our Ukrainian staff are currently doing military service. One employee was killed in a rocket attack in his home. In Germany, Knauf is committed to taking in Ukrainian refugees, e.g., by repairing appropriate accommodation in Kitzingen.

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The German original (PDF) of Knauf's response is available via the above download button.