Apple in talks to close unused Russian office space

A rare Apple retail sign

Apple is in talks to close the Moscow, Russia office it opened less than one month before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Closing down for business

The company had been forced to open offices in Moscow following local Russian regulations that demanded enterprises localise operations in Russia. That move came to an end days later, following the invasion. Apple has since then ceased selling hardware and limited the use of its services in Russia.

Apple has not left employees high and dry. While it isn’t renewing the lease on the office (which sits within sight of the Kremlin), it did manage to relocate most employees to Kyrgyzstan, Dubai and London in the weeks following the Russian attacks.

Despite this, Apple finds itself stuck with a lease that doesn’t expire until January 2025, according to the Moscow Times. Interesting, the office space hasn’t seen full use since the Covid pandemic began.

Apple’s move to terminate the lease reflects similar moves on the part of most companies equipped with a degree of corporate social responsibility following the horrific invasion of Ukraine.

[Also read: MacPaw ships SpyBuster to stop Russian data exfiltration]

We must advance the cause of peace

It is worth noting the extent to which Apple’s products had achieved popularity in Russia. The iPhone accounted for 15% of Russia’s smartphone market and it’s estimated the company sold around 32 million iPhones there in 2021. Samsung soon followed suit and ceased selling its hardware there.

Among other sanctions, Apple has;

• It has paused all product sales in Russia, including via its online store.
• It no longer exports product into sales channels in Russia.
• Apple Pay and other services have been limited.
• RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available in the App Store outside Russia.
• The company has also disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.

“I know I speak for everyone at Apple in expressing our concern for all of those affected by the violence. With each new image of families fleeing their homes and brave citizens fighting for their lives, we see how important it is for people around the world to come together to advance the cause of peace,” Apple CEO, Tim Cook wrote in an email earlier this year.

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