SAN FRANCISCO (CA): Top freelancing platform Upwork announced that they have suspended their services in Russia and Belarus to protest against the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military.
Shares of Upwork were down by 10%. The California-based platform helps connect businesses with freelancers all around the world.
The platform also said that they have already forecasted the decline in revenue after the ban and the Ukrain-Russia war in the first quarter of 2022.
Ukrainian freelancers and businesses provide 6% of total revenue while 4% belongs to Russia and Belarus. Upwork also said they have seen a decline in the user and business activity from the users in Ukraine.
The platform said that they have stopped taking users or businesses from Russia and Belarus and the older account will be deactivated by May 1, 2022.
Visa and Mastercard have also banned Russia.