In Russia, one of the largest steel mills is cutting back production due to falling demand
One of Russia’s largest steelmakers—the Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant (CHEMK)—is partially suspending production due to a decline in demand for its products.
This was reported by Russian media, citing company employees.
Management has decided to suspend operations at one of the smelting shops starting April 1 for a period of three months.
“They’re closing the fifth shop—the smelting shop [starting April 1]. There’s been talk about it for the past month, and now it’s official,” employees said.
According to them, there is no official document yet, but the decision has already been communicated to the staff. Employees were offered “unpaid leave or a transfer to another shop.”
CHEMK itself confirmed a reduction in production volumes in the ferroalloy smelting and processing division. The company noted that the reason was “a significant decline in demand for ferroalloys and, as a result, the inability to sell all products.”
The company also reported that approximately 170 employees will be temporarily transferred to other departments or granted paid leave.
As a reminder, CHEMK was nationalized following a lawsuit filed by the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation in February 2024. By September 2025, the company had switched to a four-day workweek due to a sharp drop in demand for its products.
Earlier, Russia’s largest automaker, AvtoVAZ, revised its plans for February 2026, cutting its expected sales volume by 15%.
Russia’s largest cement producer, the Cemros holding company, has temporarily suspended operations at two plants in the Belgorod and Ulyanovsk regions.
