European companies ranging from Nestle SA to Carlsberg AS suspended operations in Ukraine after Russia invaded, while manufacturers are seeking to ensure the supply of raw materials and Swiss watchmakers face the possibility of lost sales.

Denmark’s Carlsberg, with 1,300 workers in Ukraine, stopped operations at two of its three breweries there, while taking steps to “ensure the safety and wellbeing” of employees, the company said. Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes, which operates a joint venture with Anheuser-Busch InBev in Ukraine with 3,000 staff, also halted sales and production, it said.

Nestle, the world’s largest food company, temporarily closed three factories that produce confectionery, prepared dishes as well as powdered and liquid beverages. It employs roughly 5,000 people in Ukraine. Wizz Air Holdings Plc, one of the few foreign airlines with bases in the country, said it’s looking to evacuate planes and staff.

Russia’s invasion triggered Europe’s worst security crisis in decades and handed businesses just recovering from the pandemic a fresh set of challenges. Soaring oil, metals and energy prices look set to drive up costs for corporations and consumers alike, while the West’s vow to impose tougher sanctions on Russia complicates the outlook for companies that operate in the region or rely on the gas, crops, and raw materials produced there.

“We as a company now have to analyze exactly what this situation means for our business,” Siemens Energy Chief Executive Officer Christian Bruch said at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday. “Of course, we are following the primacy of politics, which will now decide what a reaction will look like.”

For watchmakers, the escalating crisis could mean lost sales. Shares of Swatch Group, the producer of Omega and BlancPain timepieces, fell 4% in Zurich Thursday and shares of Richemont, which makes Cartier jewelery and watches as well as brands including Vacheron Constantin, tumbled 6.5%, the most since August 2021.

The watchmakers are slightly more exposed than other luxury goods firms, according to UBS analysts including Zuzanna Pusz, with Russia accounting for between 2% and 3% of Swatch’s overall revenue, and about 2% of Richemont’s. 

Plasterboard Factory

German building materials maker Knauf closed a plasterboard factory in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine until further notice “out of safety concerns,” and sent its almost 600 workers home, management board member Jörg Schanow said. Ireland’s Origin Enterprises Plc, an agronomy firm, shut offices and suspended deliveries in Ukraine.

Jet-engine makers Safran SA and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc are working to diversify sources of titanium away from Russia, a major supplier, as the conflict in Ukraine threatens access to the metal needed to make critical equipment for Boeing Co. and Airbus SE planes. 

Russia’s VSMPO-Avisma Corp. is the main supplier for Safran, approaching half of procurements, Chief Executive Officer Olivier Andries said Thursday. As military tensions built over recent weeks, the French company has bought titanium from distributors in Germany, he said on a conference call. 

“We have been increasing our stocks of titanium since the start of the year,” Andries said. “We have a few months ahead of us for motor parts and landing gear, so some time to accelerate to other sources.” 

Sukhoi, Lada

Rolls-Royce, with 20% of its titanium coming from Russia, has also been stockpiling and diversifying its sources, CEO Warren East said on a separate earnings call. The metal is widely used in engines, fasteners and other aircraft parts because of its light weight, strength and resistance to corrosion.

Safran also has a joint-venture with a Russian partner that makes a regional Sukhoi jetliner. Another French manufacturer, Renault SA, produces the popular Lada cars at plants in Russia through its 68%-owned AvtoVaz venture. Shares in the French automaker have plummeted in recent days on concern about its exposure to Russia, its second-biggest market accounting for 18% of sales by volume.

Wizz Air, meantime, said it’s exploring measures to quickly extricate four aircraft and an unspecified number of staff from its bases in Ukraine.

Eastern Europe’s biggest discount airline is seeking to remove employees and their families from Kyiv and Lviv as soon as possible following the outbreak of hostilities, spokeswoman Christie Rawlings told Bloomberg News on Thursday.

Efforts are also underway to recover three aircraft from the Ukrainian capital and another from Lviv. While a flight ban imposed overnight means passenger services can no longer operate, it may be possible for the planes to take off to evacuate staff, Rawlings said.

Budapest-based Wizz has workers on the ground in Ukraine because its low-cost model includes the deployment of planes at dozens of bases across Europe. Most other carriers serving the country fly there from their home hubs with aircraft returning each evening and therefore have few or no staff there.