BMW, VW Evacuate Employees from Japan

The situation in Japan is still tense at the moment and could deteriorate even further in the near future. In response to the dangerous situation regarding the nuclear plants in the country, two major European carmakers have already decided to bring home some of their nationals.

According to Automotive News Europe, BMW has a total of 750 people in Japan, and about 50 or so German employees have returned to their home country. Meanwhile Volkswagen has about 600 people in the Asian nation. Thus far, 30 of the 40 German employees left Japan. France has already begun evacuating its nationals, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said, while Germany has also advised citizens to leave Japan.

Mari Shindo, a spokeswoman at the German embassy, said that about 100 Germans live in the Tohoku area, where a magnitude 9 quake struck Japan on March 11, while 2,600 are in Tokyo and 900 in the Kanagawa area.

All foreign nations are trying to decided what to do as the Japanese government battles to cool nuclear reactors damaged by last week's record earthquake. The country’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for calm in the wake of Japan's worst disaster since World War II.

BMW recently announced that it will donate a total of €1 million, in equal parts, to the non-profit organization “Save the Children” and the Japanese Red Cross. The carmaker says that the money will be used for the treatment of traumatized children, emergency aid and reconstruction work.

“We are deeply moved by the horrific suffering in the affected regions,” said Norbert Reithofer, BMW chairman of the board. “During this difficult time, our thoughts and sympathies are with the Japanese people.”