An alliance of more than 30 large German companies, including heavyweights such as Siemens and Volkswagen, is taking a stand against extremism in the run-up to the European elections.
The initiative titled "We stand for values" is calling on their approximately 1.7 million employees to vote in the European parliamentary elections.
They are launching a corresponding campaign on social media and are organizing events, the alliance announced on Tuesday.
The companies are convinced "that exclusion, hatred and isolation are not compatible with our values and jeopardize entrepreneurial freedom and the prosperity of each individual."
They want to counter this with a society "without hatred, division, marginalization and racism."
The list of participants includes multinational companies such as Bosch, Mercedes, Bayer, Deutsche Bahn, RWE and Deutsche Bank. The German Trade Union Confederation and the Federation of German Industries are also involved.
"Our alliance stands for respect, tolerance, openness and diversity. Extremists and racists question these values and at the same time offer seemingly simple solutions to the complex problems of our time," said Siemens chief executive Roland Busch.
"In doing so, they are dividing our society and threatening our future."
The initiative did not initially specify to whom or which parties the statements on populism, right-wing extremism and hatred referred.
However, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has been gaining popularity in recent months.
The elections to the European Parliament will take place across the 27 EU member states from June 6-9.
