Kaluga van plant in Russia employs 2,700 people
Company will continue to pay salaries
Plant39;s coowner Mitsubishi had already halted ops

MILAN, April 19 Reuters Carmaker Stellantis on Tuesday said it was suspending production at its Russian plant due to logistical difficulties and sanctions imposed on Moscow.

The world39;s fourthlargest automaker, which produced and sold the Peugeot, Citroёn, Opel, Jeep, and Fiat brands in Russia, has just 1 of the country39;s car market.

It runs a vanmaking plant in Kaluga, around 125 miles 201 kilometres southeast of Moscow, coowned with Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi, which halted production at the facility earlier this month. 

Given the rapid daily increase in cross sanctions and logistical difficulties, Stellantis has suspended its manufacturing operations in Kaluga to ensure full compliance with all cross sanctions and to protect its employees, Stellantis said in a statement.

The plant employs 2,700 people.

The company will continue to pay salaries through a local downtime scheme and by using anticipated vacation periods, Stellantis told Reuters.

It said it did not know how long the stoppage would last, adding that its priority was its staff and the return of peace.

Stellantis had already suspended all exports and imports of vehicles with Russia, following Moscow39;s invasion of Ukraine, moving production to western Europe. It had also said it was freezing plans for more investments in the country. Van production in…