Multinationals in Egypt Closed for Business

Global makers of everything from dish soap to bottled beer are keeping their offices in Egypt shuttered and workers at home during mass protests that have brought the country to a political boil, the Wall Street Journal reports. Evacuations of some non-Egyptian employees and their families also are underway as companies wait out the upheaval.

The Holland-based brewer Heineken NV has more than 2,000 employees in Egypt and will not send them back to work until conditions stabilize. The Proctor & Gamble Co. corporate office in Cairo as well as its two Egyptian factories— which produce staples including dishwashing liquid and diapers — are likewise closed until further notice.

Coca-Cola Co. has about 100 people at a Cairo office that closed on Sunday and will not re-open until conditions stabilize. But even in the middle of a revolution, Coke delivery continues, albeit on a limited basis through an Egyptian bottler that is the Atlanta-based beverage maker’s local franchisee.

“Trucks are home before curfew,” a Coca-Cola spokesman said.