Uralvagonzavod, Russia’s leading tank manufacturer, has announced plans to significantly reduce its workforce over the coming months.
According to information from the portal Militarnyi, the factory is preparing to cut up to 10% of its workforce by February 2026 and temporarily suspend new hires.
Internal documents mentioned by the site indicate that a special commission has been formed to review candidates for dismissal. The selected employees are expected to receive severance payments equivalent to up to three average monthly salaries.
However, company employees claim that the real scale of the staff reduction could be much greater than what has been publicly disclosed. Some factory workers said that internal estimates suggest cuts of “up to 50% of staff in several departments.”
According to these employees, highly trained specialists — including personnel with years of hands-on experience in defense equipment manufacturing — now risk losing their jobs.
The company has not provided further details on which production segments will be affected. Workers believe the cuts will primarily impact the civil division responsible for manufacturing freight railcars.
However, employees are questioning whether these cuts might also affect the military manufacturing sector. If layoffs extend to the defense production chain, it would signal deeper issues with government funding or the flow of orders.
It is worth noting that despite the continued consumption of armored vehicles during wartime, Russia’s ability to maintain large-scale military equipment production depends on both stable industrial capacity and ongoing federal funding.
According to information from the Defence Blog, Uralvagonzavod does not appear to be the only company affected by this issue. On October 26, the Ashinsky Metallurgical Plant, a specialist in steels used in the defense, aviation, nuclear, and oil sectors, also announced reductions in both production and workforce.
Photo: Uralvagonzavod. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
