Gazprom Plans to Lay Off 40% of Its Employees Due to Financial Crises
Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, is preparing to lay off 40% of its headquarters staff in Saint Petersburg, northwest Russia, amidst financial difficulties exacerbated by the Kremlin’s military actions in Ukraine, according to a company spokesperson quoted by AFP on Monday.
This announcement comes two weeks after Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine were halted following the expiration of an agreement signed by Kyiv and Moscow before the invasion, which Kyiv refused to extend, significantly cutting off a major revenue stream for Russia.
In a letter dated December 23, Elena Ilyukhina, Deputy Chairwoman of Gazprom’s Management Board, proposed to CEO Alexei Miller that the company’s central office staff be reduced from over 4,100 to 2,500 employees. This letter was published by a local Russian media outlet.
Sergei Kupriyanov, Gazprom’s communications officer, confirmed the authenticity of the document in response to AFP’s inquiry but did not provide further details, simply stating, “Yes,” and adding, “We do not comment on internal procedures.”
In her letter,
Ilyukhina mentioned that “the challenges facing Gazprom Group require reducing preparation times and decision-making.”
The proposed layoffs do not include production site employees. Gazprom, a pivotal entity in
Russia’s economy led by Alexei Miller, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, has seen a decline in
shipments to European markets since 2022.
In 2023, Gazprom recorded a net loss of approximately seven billion dollars, marking its first
annual loss in over twenty years. The company has faced successive setbacks since 2022, starting
with the halt of supplies to Germany after the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic
Sea in September 2022.
As of January 1, 2025,
Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Europe has been completely stopped. According to the
Russian business newspaper “Vedomosti,” experts estimate that Gazprom could lose about 5
billion euros in annual revenue due to the cessation of supplies through Ukraine, which
represents around 6% of its revenues.
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