Worried About the Russians? Hyundai and Others Aren't
Okay, so I am not really going to do a whole series of articles on all the companies from across the globe that do business in Russia. The title was a little "click bait-ish".
However, I get many opportunities to work with multi-national companies here in St. Petersburg and last year I was invited to tour Hyundai's state of the art manufacturing center. It was a fantastic tour that showcased their production and control systems and I was very impressed. Keep in mind that I've NEVER owned anything other than an American made automobile and if that ever changes, I may be labeled persona non grata by my relatives in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
That being said, I was very impressed with Hyundai and would not think twice about driving one of their vehicles after seeing how they operate. I've toured several automotive plants and even more manufacturing facilities of other companies and their operation is tip-top.
Hyundai and Many Other Companies are Heavily Invested in the Russian Economy
It seems that in the last 2 years that any contact with Russians somehow exposes a person or company to some sort of scandalous dealings. If you're a politician, it can plague you continuously. Just ask Hillary Clinton (Uranium 1) and Donald Trump (a plethora of accusations including urinating prostitutes). Most of these associative problems are rooted in consumer ignorance and find their foundations in the archaic Cold War mentality that far too many Western voters still cling to.
Therefore, since many of you or people you know are so "deeply concerned" about relationships that Westerners have with the SCARY RUSSIANS, let's highlight the countless other companies that YOU and those you know do business with that are also heavily invested in Russia.
Hyundai is a great example because they built an multi-million dollar manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg, but also have operations everywhere in Russia. They employ thousands of Russians and hundreds of Koreans here. Don't start worrying that they are cornering the Russian market in automobile sales because guess who else is here in the automotive game.
Here is a small list -
Ford - General Motors - Volkswagon - Nissan - Peugeot...
You get the point I'm sure. If Russia and Putin are so evil, why are these companies doing business here and why aren't they being harassed by the media and sanctioned by Western governments? You might answer that, well, it's cars and the car business is everywhere and so on, excuse, excuse, blah blah blah.
How about other companies though? What about Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's, Subway, KFC, Starbucks (OMG, the liberal deity is in Russia too?, Yes), TGIFridays, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and the list goes on and on.
Oh Jerry, those are just franchised operations bought by Russians. Except, no they aren't. Coca-Cola didn't sell bottling rights, they opened up corporate operations. The owners of many of these franchises most often have Western partners. But Jerry, it's not the same - it's only the food business and the real threat blah blah blah...
How about technology firms? Surely, the technological and innovative giants couldn't be in cahoots with the evil Russians. After all, they will steal the technology and invade Europe tomorrow. Good thing we have NATO to protect the EU.
Good thinking, but once again you're wrong. You see those innovators like General Electric and Siemens are ALSO heavily invested in Russia. They aren't just selling to the Russians, they are investing in the economy itself and paying Russians to do research and production of these marvelous innovations. How can that be so, they are going to give the good info to the enemy? Maybe they only give them the bad technology? Sure, whatever makes you sleep better at night and Hillary lost because of hackers - sure sleep well.
Here are some other fan favorites in the technology sector - especially in computers, networking, programming, etc. All the big boys are HERE. Google? Here. Microsoft? Present. This list is extraordinarily long. Why? Because Russian programmers ARE that good. You will be hard pressed to find a single superstar firm in Silicon Valley that doesn't have a presence of some kind in Russia or sub-contract work here.
But Zuckerberg said the Russians... Yeah. Want to know where FB has less market penetration than most anywhere? Bingo! Russia. How is that possible, Jerry? The Zuck! Well, there is this thing called BKontakte (VK) and it is like FB on steroids and most Russian speaking people use it instead. Is their information anymore secure than yours is on FB? Not likely, but it's the Orwellian world we live in.
Wonder where that tech job is that you've been searching for? It is probably here. Officially, a ton of tech firms are operating in Russia and unofficially there are 1000's more. You see, that Russian programmer will work for less pay, doesn't complain about micro-aggressions, and doesn't want a company committee created for "gender issues in the workplace". He/she (yes, women in tech and science actually exist in Russia) will just show up to work and do what they are supposed to do like normal employees because they understand that what they do at home or on the weekends has no bearing on what they SHOULD be doing at work. Sorry SJW's, this is how the REAL world operates and why YOUR tech job wasn't waiting for you and your Women's Studies degree.
Moving on to other large Multi-Nationals you didn't know were heavily invested in Russia. British Petroleum, Shell, Exxon-Mobil, EON, Haliburton, Schlumberger, Proctor & Gamble, International Paper, Encore, JTI (tobacco), Phillip Morris, Baker & McKenzie, Price Waterhouse Coopers, KPMG, Orange Communications, Marriot, Hilton, Smurfit Kappa, Unilever, Wrigley...
If the Russians are so bent on taking over the world and controlling foreign governments and killing innocent ex-spies and their children, then why are all these companies doing so much business here. Surely, that would be a REALLY big mistake from a business sense OR maybe the loads of bullshit you've been spoon fed over the last few years and your hatred for a political candidate has allowed you to abandon all reason and believe it.
However, maybe you're on Steemit and you don't fall for that Dog and Pony show because Steemians are smarter than the average bear (no pun intended, but Kudos if you got it).
Last photo is next to the first car off the assembly line at the Hyundai factory. The car is personally signed by President Putin (I wonder if Hyundai executives are under investigation in Korea for this).
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