Apple matching employee contributions to Ukraine 2:1 and halting sales in Russia.
Over the past several years, Ukraine has emerged as a tech hub in Europe. There are thousands of software developers and many of them are strong partners with Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook has long been known as a fighter for human rights and in recent years, Apple as a company has followed suit cementing its legacy as a humanitarian corporation with supporting people in the wake of natural disasters; funds and products donated to educational efforts, and all their green initiatives.
Cook who has a pretty active Twitter feed, has made his personal feelings on the situation in Ukraine known with this tweet from February 24, which also marked the 67th birthday of the late Steve Jobs.
Yesterday, March 1, 2022, Cook sent out an email to all Apple employees, that outlined the actions that Apple is now taking in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This email was first published on The Verge and the full content of the email is included below with the exception of the Apple email address that was redacted for privacy reasons by The Verge.
I wanted to take a moment to address the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
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 is donating to humanitarian relief efforts and providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis. We are also working with partners to assess what more we can do. I know that many of you are eager to find ways to support as well, and we want to help amplify the impact of your donations. Starting today, Apple will match your donations at a rate of 2:1 for eligible organizations, and we will make this retroactive for donations to those organizations since February 25. Please visit the Employee Giving Portal to learn more.
We are working to support our teams in Ukraine and across the region. In Ukraine, we have been in contact with every employee, assisting them and their families in any way we can. For our Ukrainian team members located outside of the country that may need support, please contact [email redacted]. And for any employee who needs any support, please visit the People site for available resources.
As a company, we are taking additional actions as well. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.
We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking.
This moment calls for unity, it calls for courage, and it reminds us that we must never lose sight of the humanity we all share. In these difficult times, I take comfort in knowing that we are united in our commitment to each other, to our users, and to being a force for good in the world.
– Tim Cook, Apple CEO
In addition to this email being released, several public statements have been published outlining Apple’s plans to halt sales in Russia. I also want to bring particular attention to the fact that Apple is actively working to assist their employees and their families who are located in Ukraine as well as providing a 2:1 matching contribution to eligible organizations that employees donate to that is retroactive to February 25.
At MacSources, we have long been fans of Apple products and policies. So, we are happy to see Apple taking a leadership role as a corporation during this time of conflict in the technology world. Hopefully, other tech giants will stand up with Ukraine and Apple.
#StandWithUkraine
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