{"id":18068,"date":"2022-03-02T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/03\/02\/how-wix-aims-keep-nearly-1000-ukrainian-employees-safe-amid-russian-invasion\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T14:00:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:00:37","slug":"how-wix-aims-keep-nearly-1000-ukrainian-employees-safe-amid-russian-invasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/03\/02\/how-wix-aims-keep-nearly-1000-ukrainian-employees-safe-amid-russian-invasion\/","title":{"rendered":"How Wix aims keep nearly 1,000 Ukrainian employees safe amid Russian invasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cYou get caught up in the moment,\u201d says Zohar, a former lieutenant commander for the Israeli navy, who has been at the company since 2007. \u201cYou don\u2019t stop to think about how you feel about it. You have to do [what you have to do.]”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From Tel Aviv, where the company is based, Zohar has spent the past few weeks working with a team of 20 Wix employees, arranging flights and buses to evacuate employees and their families from Ukraine to Poland and Turkey. At the same time, the company is keeping tabs through regular communication via text, messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, and phone calls with about 500 workers who remain in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wix is one of many tech companies that have staff in Ukraine, a technology hub that outsources IT talent and other tech services for many of the world\u2019s businesses. Tech giants including Microsoft, Snap and Amazon-owned Ring have employees there devoted to functions across their businesses. Ukraine is also a place active with start-ups.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wix\u2019s move to redeploy staff to other countries amid the war illustrates the complexities facing many of these companies \u2014 from how to keep employees safe to what mode of communication to use, to the best way to pay workers. Wix also has to make sure relocated workers are set up to use local currencies, have a place to stay and are supplied with essentials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s crazy and unsettling,\u201d Zohar says. \u201cThe people from Kyiv are [in] a scary situation,\u201d he said about the capital of Ukraine, where Wix has an office. \u201cThey don\u2019t see much most of the time, but they hear a lot of explosions and sirens.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Wix said it has <\/b>been making emergency preparations since early February when talk of the conflict became more charged. During the second week of February, the company offered about 45 \u201cmission critical\u201d employees, who work on current products and are vital to keeping the business running, and their families relocation services to Krak\u00f3w, Poland, where Wix has a small office. The company booked their flights and set them up in apartments. A few days later, the company offered to help the remaining employees and their families relocate to Turkey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Since then, Wix contracted bus companies to help evacuate people from Kyiv and Dnipro to western Ukraine, where the threat was less extreme, Zohar said. But the situation quickly grew <\/b>complicated after Ukraine\u2019s state border guard service prohibited men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country. Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had encouraged citizens to volunteer<\/a> to fight in defense of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Zohar said thus began the \u201cheartbreaking\u201d separation of families, as men stayed behind and the wives and children sought safety elsewhere. Wix then said about 30 of its Lithuanian employees volunteered to drive 600 miles to the border of Poland to collect people, some of whom ditched their cars and crossed on foot. The greeting teams picked up the workers, who were then set up for the night to rest before the trip to Krak\u00f3w. They received items such as food, blankets, diapers, SIM cards for their phones and cash cards. The effort is ongoing, Zohar said. Of the 500 employees who remain in Ukraine, 195 are in areas considered to be dangerous, according to data from Wix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe main focus is still trying to get people out,\u201d Zohar said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So far, Wix has not had problems with pay or communication, Zohar said, and it has paid some salaries in advance in anticipation of banking issues. The company also has set up an internal news website dedicated to updates and resources including mental health services, information about crossing the border, traffic updates, and emergency contact information for each country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, Microsoft, Ring, video-gaming company Ubisoft, Snap, and editing and writing service Grammarly all said they\u2019re trying to protect their workers in Ukraine. And Tampa-based software outsourcing company JetBridge said it has been struggling with the logistics of getting its 24 software developers out of Kyiv. It has also started paying its employees in Belarus in bitcoin amid the rising fear of sanctions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is a bit of a sidestep or a step back to get paid in crypto, especially with the volatility,\u201d CEO John Sun Kim told The Washington Post. But \u201cI don\u2019t see how else we\u2019re going to get money into that country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ukraine is also the birthplace of Looksery, the company that Snap acquired to help build its augmented reality features. Snap said 300 of its team members have called Ukraine home, but the company would not clarify how many are currently there, citing safety concerns. It has been providing emergency assistance and helping team members leave danger zones. It also pledged more than $15 million in humanitarian aid to support organizations providing direct relief to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Snap halted ads running in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and stopped sales to all Russian entities. The company said it plans to continue providing aid to its workers in Ukraine as the conflict unfolds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMany of our friends and teammates remain in Ukraine,\u201d it said in a statement. \u201cSome have joined the fight to defend their country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ubisoft said it has provided Ukrainian team members additional funds to help cover the costs of travel and relocation. It also paid salaries in advance to account for any potential disruption to local banking systems. The company also is providing housing for employees in neighboring countries. To ensure continued communication, the company set up hotlines to respond to workers\u2019 questions and needs and implemented an \u201cemergency communication system\u201d in case the infrastructures become unstable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Microsoft, which has employees in Ukraine and Russia, said it is monitoring the situation and focused on supporting its workers in the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For Wix, the crisis operation has benefited from the military background of its workers \u2014 all Israeli citizens older than 18 are required to serve. Zohar also estimated that 100 employees have volunteered to assist. That includes Ukrainian workers who relocated to neighboring countries and are now checking on their colleagues who stayed behind. Employees want to help those who are struggling, as was the case when a hurricane hit Miami several years ago and last year when a winter storm in Texas left residents without power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Zohar said he is moved by the employees who have already jumped in to help and those ready to provide aid in whatever way they can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIn this time of distress, that\u2019s the light,\u201d Zohar said. \u201cThe human spirit that is so much alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nitasha Tiku and Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n