Google in Russia to file for bankruptcy after being confiscated by the government Can’t pay employees

Last year, the Russian branch of Google made more than 1340 billion Russian rubles (about 73 billion baht), employing more than 100 jobs, but now the company can no longer maintain the branch.

A Google spokesperson said the main reason was the company’s seizure of bank accounts by Russian authorities. making the company unable to continue operating Whether it’s new hires, employee payroll, supplier and vendor payments. including fulfilling other financial obligations

which led to making a letter informing the intention to file bankruptcy

In March, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Google announced a suspension of ad sales in Russia, while YouTube banned government-sponsored Russian media channels. before completely blocking those channels.

But if you look back, the problems between Google and the Russian government weren’t just during the war.

In December 2021, Russia fined Google 7.2 billion rubles (about 3.9 billion baht) after Google failed to remove content that the Russian government says illegal from its platform.

The fine represents 8% of Google’s revenue in Russia.

Reuters also reported that in April, the Russian TV channel reported that the government fined Google an additional 1 billion rubles (about 546 million baht) after it failed to regain access to the channel’s YouTube account.

not only that But the Russian communications regulator also threatened to fine Google 8 million rubles after Google removed several ‘illegal’ videos from YouTube.

Overall, I’m not sure how much Russia has already fined Google.

So far, Google appears to be the first major tech company to file for bankruptcy in Russia. as a result of the war with Ukraine

Other companies such as Apple, Meta and Microsoft have only announced suspensions. Bankruptcy has not yet been filed.

Other companies filing for bankruptcy include Russian-backed food delivery startup Buyk. It filed for bankruptcy in March because it was hit by economic sanctions.

However, despite filing for bankruptcy, Google said its free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play will continue to be available in Russia.

Source: theverge