Putin’s tank factory announces massive staff cuts
The flagship of Russian tank production, Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), has announced a plan for massive layoffs. According to some reports, the number of personnel in a number of divisions may decrease by 50%.
As reported by Russian media outlet E1, by February 2026, the plant plans to lay off about 10% of its employees and temporarily stop recruiting new personnel.
Internal documents of the UVZ stipulate that the decision on dismissal will be made by a special commission, and those who will be subject to layoffs will be paid compensation of up to three average monthly salaries.
However, the plant’s employees fear that the real scale of the cuts may be much larger. “According to our data, up to half of the staff may be cut in some departments. Highly qualified specialists who provide key production processes will lose their jobs,” the company’s employees told the publication.
It is currently unknown which units will be subject to cuts. It could be the civilian sector, which produces railway carriages, but it is possible that the changes will also affect the military sector.
Experts note that if the optimization concerns civilian production, the issue of transferring workers to military facilities remains open. The demand for personnel for the defense sector is growing, so the logic of the cuts seems questionable.
Such changes are likely due to insufficient state funding and a lack of orders, which makes it impossible to maintain the current staff even at a strategically important enterprise.
As a reminder, one of the key players in the Russian agricultural industry, Rostsilmash, has reduced production capacity and introduced a three-day work week starting in August. The reason is a sharp drop in sales and financial instability.
As reported, Russia’s largest automaker AvtoVAZ switched its factories to a four-day work week starting September 29. The new schedule will be in effect for at least six months, until March 2026. The reason was a sharp drop in sales and problems in the car market.
In addition,the Russian government has announced large-scale spending cuts for 18 state programs in 2026, with savings exceeding 207 billion rubles. At the same time, certain industries will suffer serious losses, while funding for propaganda and government agencies will increase.
It should be noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that as a result of international sanctions, Russia will have a budget deficit of at least $100 billion in 2026, and according to optimistic forecasts, up to $130 billion.
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