Red Hat moves out of Russia

The wave of companies cutting ties to the Russian government and companies now includes two top Linux and open-source powers: Red Hat and SUSE. 

SUSE moved first. SUSE CEO Melissa Di Donato watched with deep despair at Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine. On March 7th, Di Donato decided that SUSE would support humanitarian efforts to help refugees and victims of war. This is an especially challenging time for SUSE since many SUSE employees have Ukrainian family members. 

Now, SUSE is “evaluating all of our business relationships in Russia and has suspended all direct sales in Russia.” SUSE is also “observing all economic sanctions” and ready to comply with any additional sanctions.

In the meantime, in the States, Paul Cormier, Red Hat’s president and CEO, went further. For Red Hat, with employees in both Ukraine and Russia, this wasn’t easy. 

In a staff e-mail, Cormier, declared, “Effective immediately, Red Hat is discontinuing sales and services in Russia and Belarus (for both organizations located in or headquartered in Russia or Belarus). This includes discontinuing partner relationships with organizations based in or headquartered in Russia or Belarus.” 

In addition, Red Hat is helping its Ukrainian employees and their families to move safely to nearby countries such as Poland. The company is also doing what it can to “help those who remain in the country in any way possible.” Red Hat will also support its associates in Russia.

Docker has also moved out of Russia. Docker CEO Scott Johnson said, “Docker stands with the members in our Ukrainian community and the sovereign nation of Ukraine. … We will not do business with Russian companies during this period. As such, we have removed the ability to purchase Docker subscriptions from Russia and Belarus.”

Microsoft, which believe it or not is a Linux company, has gone even further. Microsoft President Brad Smith announced the company would help Ukraine against Russian cyber attacks. Smith wrote that while “We are a company and not a government or a country,” Microsoft would help protect Ukraine from cyberattacks. Other companies, such as SpaceX Starlink, are also actively helping Ukraine.

Many other US, United Kingdom, and EU companies have cut their ties with Russia to one degree or another. These include Apple, Oracle, Netflix, TikTok, MasterCard, Visa, and DXC.