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Turkish electronics and domestic appliances maker Vestel has closed down its factory in Russia, citing the country's financial crisis, according to Turkish English-language daily newspaper The Hurriyet Daily News.
"We had closed down the factory before the November 24 [2015] jet crisis erupted. ...We will move the machines. We are looking for a place abroad but we may move the factory to Turkey too," said Vestel CEO Turan Erdogan, adding that their search for a new location for the factory is ongoing, according to the report.
Although Vestel's exit from the Russian market developed independently from the jet crisis between Turkey and Russia, many Turkish companies have been exiting Russia after the economic and political relations between the two countries have deteriorated severely.
Vestel CIS was established in 2003, with total investment amounting to $40 million. In 2013, the plant produced one million TV sets, 350,000 washing machines, and 500,000 refrigerators. The company employed more than 1,200 people at a factory in Aleksandrov (Russia), and Moscow-based sales and marketing office.