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Some tech firms have offered financial support to workers, set up hotlines and arranged for travel or housing for those fleeing the escalating conflict, according to interviews and company statements. One global tech company, Wix, planned for weeks for worst case scenarios for its 900 employees in the country.
“A small number wanted to leave on their own to other locations, the rest preferred to stay in Ukraine for various reasons,” said Zohar. “These people are very patriotic and they didn’t want to leave their home country … I think no one believed it was going to be a full-blown invasion so fast.”
In recent days, CNN Business has reached out to more than a dozen large tech companies with presences in the country. Uber, which paused its car service in Ukraine in response to the war, said it was offering logistical and financial support to impacted employees and their immediate family members should they voluntarily choose to relocate. Lyft said it was providing financial support for “emergency preparedness and for those who wish to temporarily relocate, increased time off and additional mental health resources.”
Ubisoft, a video game company, said it recommended to employees the week before the invasion that they take shelter in a place they consider safe and that it is providing housing in neighboring countries for employees and their families as an option. It said it paid salaries in advance in case banking systems are disrupted, as well as offered additional funds to help cover costs, such as those related to travel and relocation.
“We have set up hotlines … and have put in place an emergency communication system should infrastructures grow unstable,” the company said in a statement.
For Wix, Russia’s escalation meant acting on another part of the plan it had begun discussing roughly a month ago: moving as many employees, and their families, as possible toward the western part of Ukraine, which it anticipated would be safer. In preparation, Wix contracted some bus companies in advance and some employees have taken the chartered buses from Kyiv or Dnipro, while others have driven on their own. At the border, they have been met by Wix staffers.
“We had over 30 volunteers from our offices in Lithuania who took their cars and drove down to the Polish borders … to help them [get] a hot meal, supplies, blankets, diapers, anything they might need. Set them up for a night’s sleep somewhere close to the border,” said Zohar.
Right before speaking with CNN Monday morning, Zohar said he received confirmation that another chartered bus, carrying roughly 40 people, had crossed the border to Poland. “There are still quite a few who are in the border area waiting because there are very, very, very long lines there,” he said. “Sadly, there’s a bunch stuck in the more dangerous zones in Ukraine, which we’re really, really hoping we’re able to get out at some point.”
As the situation evolves, so do Wix’s plans. For instance, the company initially planned to keep employees in Turkey for two weeks — but two weeks came and went this weekend. “Obviously we extended it because they cannot go back,” Zohar said.
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