Due to record losses, KAMAZ has begun mass layoffs

KAMAZ, Russia’s largest truck manufacturer, is in the midst of a severe crisis and has begun large-scale staff cuts and work schedule adjustments. Company management has been forced to take these steps due to a sharp drop in demand for its vehicles and a critical deterioration in its financial performance.

This was reported by The Moscow Times.

In April, the company laid off about 500 employees, and in May, another 1,500 employees were affected by the cuts. For the remaining staff at the logistics center, salaries were cut by about a third, and starting in June, a four-day workweek will be introduced for them. The company is also sending employees on unpaid leave and reducing the duration of night shifts to maximize savings on payroll costs.

The main factor behind the crisis was KAMAZ’s net loss, which exceeded 43 billion rubles last year—the company’s worst result since 2019. The holding’s truck sales fell by 16% (to 14,500 units), while the Russian freight transport market as a whole shrank by nearly half.

Sergey Kogogin, the plant’s CEO, noted that the market continues to decline, and at the start of the year, heavy truck sales plummeted by nearly 40%more. Amid the market downturn, the company is completely scaling back its investment program and is focused on a single goal: minimizing losses and breaking even.