Moscow: Russian car giant Avtovaz, maker of the Lada model, is to cut almost 27,700 jobs in response to a drastic slackening in demand due to the economic crisis, a news agency reported Monday.
Interfax news agency, citing sources within the company,
said Avtovaz vice president Igor Komarov had announced the
plan to cut 27,691 jobs at a meeting with suppliers attended
by the governor of the region where the firm is
based.
According to Interfax, the company currently employs
110,000 workers and if confirmed the job losses would be among
the biggest at a single company in Russia's current economic
crisis.
Company officials were not available for immediate
comment. The company, which is 25 percent owned by French
carmaker Renault, has already said it will suspend production
for the month of August in response to falling sales, the
second such move this year.
Avtovaz in early July reported a net loss for last year
of 24.7 billion rubles (563 million euros, 799 million
dollars) after a profit of 3.7 billion rubles in 2007.
The Russian government in late March said it would
provide the struggling group with a loan of 25 billion rubles.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 22:05