Boeing and Ford suspend operations in Russia

Two major US manufacturers, Boeing and Ford Motor, suspended their business activities in Russia as the country escalated its war in Ukraine. Boeing said on Tuesday that it had halted major operations in its Moscow office and temporarily closed another office in Kyiv, Ukraine. The company also said that it had ceased providing parts, maintenance and technical support services to Russian airlines. In recent days, countries around the world have imposed sanctions on Russian carriers, limiting their ability to use leased planes; fly over Western Europe; or buy spare parts. Boeing employs several thousand people in Russia, Ukraine and a handful of former Soviet states, an operation that includes a major design center in Moscow. The company also runs a flight training campus and research and technology center in the city and has a joint venture in Russia with VSMPO-AVISMA, Boeing’s largest titanium supplier. Boeing has also been trying to diversify its titanium supply in recent years and it said it had enough of the metal on hand to keep making commercial aircraft in the near term.<br/>