MOSCOW, Sept 24 (Russia) - AvtoVAZ, Russia's largest car maker, said on Thursday it has agreed to cut more than a quarter of its workforce as the producer of the iconic Lada struggles with a sharp decline in demand for its cars.
AvtoVAZ, part-owned by French car maker Renault, has agreed with trade union leaders to cut up to 27,600 jobs at its plant on the Volga river, the company said in a statement.
'The enterprise is working on one shift and at 65 percent of capacity. Lowering personnel numbers is essential in such a situation,' said the company, which employs a total of 102,000 people.
Russia's leaders are wary of simmering unrest in one-factory cities across the country and have made social issues a priority in tackling the economic crisis, which has pushed Russia into its first recession in a decade.
AvtoVAZ, also part-owned by state conglomerate Russian Technologies, has cut workers' incomes and reduced the working week at the plant in Togliatti, a city 900 km (560 miles) southeast of Moscow built in the 1960s to serve the car plant.
About 2,000 workers protested in Togliatti last month after management halved wages.
AvtoVAZ President Igor Komarov met on Wednesday with the company's main trade union, the company said, at which a plan to reduce the workforce to an optimum 75,000 was discussed.
Those to be dismissed will include 13,000 pensioners, who are expected to leave in September or October, as well as 5,500 people approaching pensionable age.
AvtoVAZ said around 6,000 of the 9,100 younger workers to be laid off 'would once again be required' from the beginning of 2012, when AvtoVAZ and Renault plan to launch a joint project.
(Reporting by Robin Paxton; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: AVTOVAZ/ (robin.paxton@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: robin.paxton.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
AvtoVAZ, part-owned by French car maker Renault, has agreed with trade union leaders to cut up to 27,600 jobs at its plant on the Volga river, the company said in a statement.
'The enterprise is working on one shift and at 65 percent of capacity. Lowering personnel numbers is essential in such a situation,' said the company, which employs a total of 102,000 people.
Russia's leaders are wary of simmering unrest in one-factory cities across the country and have made social issues a priority in tackling the economic crisis, which has pushed Russia into its first recession in a decade.
AvtoVAZ, also part-owned by state conglomerate Russian Technologies, has cut workers' incomes and reduced the working week at the plant in Togliatti, a city 900 km (560 miles) southeast of Moscow built in the 1960s to serve the car plant.
About 2,000 workers protested in Togliatti last month after management halved wages.
AvtoVAZ President Igor Komarov met on Wednesday with the company's main trade union, the company said, at which a plan to reduce the workforce to an optimum 75,000 was discussed.
Those to be dismissed will include 13,000 pensioners, who are expected to leave in September or October, as well as 5,500 people approaching pensionable age.
AvtoVAZ said around 6,000 of the 9,100 younger workers to be laid off 'would once again be required' from the beginning of 2012, when AvtoVAZ and Renault plan to launch a joint project.
(Reporting by Robin Paxton; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: AVTOVAZ/ (robin.paxton@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: robin.paxton.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.