SERGEI TSUKHLO: “MACHINE BUILDING SECTOR IS LOSING STAFF”

Russian companies face a number of human resources issues. Difficulties arise not only in hiring, but also in dismissal of existing employees. According to Sergei Tsukhlo, layoffs of employees fr om industrial enterprises have peaked in the last 10 years. According to the surveys of Russian industrial enterprises, the reasons for dismissals are both reaching the retirement age (55% of the surveyed enterprises responded so), as well as employees moving to another locality (55%), and difficult working conditions (33%). The Gaidar Institute experts pointed out that labor mobility may be associated with moves to regions wh ere military-industrial enterprises are located.

Besides, there is one more common reason for dismissals: it is labeled in the study as "conscription, trial, death". Now 52% of enterprises mention it too, but this is not the maximum value. The record, about 60% of references, was reached exactly one year ago, in November 2022. As Sergei Tsukhlo explained in the survey, the growth of territorial mobility of the labor force is most likely due to "the forced recruitment of workers in other regions and their relocation to the neighborhoods where military-industrial enterprises are located". At the same time, there is a "natural process of aging of qualified workers", which, in turn, is supplemented by "a logical increase in the workload of existing employees in the context of the personnel crisis, which is difficult to sustain at an advanced age".

According to the Gaidar Institute, the most contradictory situation with personnel is in machine-building. There, around 56% of enterprises reported about dismissals of employees due to their relocation, around 55% are about dismissals due to such reasons as "conscription, trial, death", and around 52% are about staff outflow due to reaching retirement age.

The paradox is as follows: in the machine-building industry, which includes the military-industrial complex, personnel flows from some enterprises engaged in civilian production to others related to the military sphere. Thus, mechanical engineering attracts the most valuable specialists from other industries, creating a personnel deficit in them.

At the same time, in the light industry, according to Sergei Tsukhlo, 63% of enterprises state that almost no one is dismissed. However, there is also a staff shortage in that sector, as 80% of enterprises report a shortage of workers due to expected changes in demand and low wages. This is explained by competition with other industries, as, for example, in commerce salaries are 1.5-2 times higher, according to Rosstat data.