Multinationals Keep Egypt Offices Shut, Workers Home

Multinational companies had no immediate plans to reopen Egyptian offices or bring back evacuated employees after President Hosni Mubarak's attempt to restore stability failed to placate protesters.

Companies including Heineken NV, Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. said they would continue to track developments in Egypt but didn't yet plan to restart shuttered operations.

At Heineken, "our operations are still closed and they will remain so," said John Clarke, a spokesman for the multinational brewing giant. "We are going to take a wait-and-see."

The Dutch brewer has more than 2,000 employees in Egypt, its most important market in North Africa. The company won't resume operations until "the well-being of our employees is guaranteed," he said.

Procter & Gamble Co. in the last 48 hours has been moving some foreign national employees and their families out of Egypt. While Mr. Mubarak's announcement hasn't immediately affected P&G's evacuation plans in the area, "we're closely monitoring the situation," a company spokesman said.

Last Wednesday, P&G closed its general office in Cairo, asking employees there to work from home. More than 90% of P&G's employees in Egypt are Egyptian citizens, the company says.

P&G's two plants in Egypt are also closed. One makes home care products like detergent and dish soap, the other plant produces diapers.

Coca-Cola Co. will reopen its Cairo office "when we deem it safe to do so,'' said Kenth Kaerhoeg, a spokesman for the big beverage business in Atlanta. Despite Tuesday's developments in Egypt, "we have not made any [reopening] decision in the last few hours,'' he added late Tuesday afternoon. "We are following the situation closely.''

Coke shut down the Cairo office Sunday. Mr. Kaerhoeg previously said it wouldn't reopen until security in the city improves. The office employs around 100 people, an individual familiar with the situation estimated.

An Egyptian bottler operating as Coke's local franchisee owns eight bottling plants there. Those plants "are delivering products on a limited distribution,'' the Coke spokesman continued. But "trucks are home before the curfew.''

Network equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Finland's Nokia Corp. and Germany's Siemens AG, has 400 employees in Cairo and Giza, including 55 foreign employees who have all been evacuated from the country with their families.

A spokesman said the company has also postponed all business travel due to the unrest and is providing advice on personal safety to the remaining employees.

"The safety of our employees is extremely important and we continue to monitor the situation closely," said a spokesman.

Source: http://online.wsj.com