Russian gas giant Gazprom, facing financial difficulties resulting from Moscow's assault on Ukraine, plans to cut around 40% of positions at its headquarters in Saint Petersburg (northwest), it said on Monday. a spokesperson for the group told AFP.
This announcement comes two weeks after the end of lucrative Russian gas transit via Ukraine, a decision taken by kyiv to limit Moscow's revenues after three years of conflict.
In a letter addressed on December 23 to boss Alexei Miller and published by a local Russian media, the vice-president of the board of directors, Elena Ilioukhina, proposed reducing the workforce of Gazprom's administration by “more than 4,100” to “2,500 people”.
Questioned by AFP, Sergei Koupryanov, in charge of communications at Gazprom, confirmed the authenticity of the document, without further details: “Yes”, he simply indicated. And added: “We do not comment on internal procedures.”
In her letter, Ms. Iliukhina indicated that “the challenges facing the Gazprom group require a reduction in preparation and decision-making time.”
These proposed layoffs would not affect employees on production sites.
Gazprom, the flagship of the Russian economy and headed by Alexeï Miller, very close to Vladimir Putin, has had to face the sudden reduction of the European market since 2022.
-In 2023, Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports, recorded a net loss of nearly seven billion dollars, a first in more than twenty years.
Bad news has been accumulating for three years for the group: after the end of deliveries to Germany following the sabotage of Nord Stream in the Baltic Sea in September 2022, the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine ended January 1st.
According to experts, cited by the Russian daily Vedomosti, Gazprom will be cut by around 5 billion euros in annual revenue for its deliveries via Ukraine, or around 6% of its turnover.
At this stage, only the TurkStream gas pipeline remains, under the Black Sea, to supply Europe with Russian gas by tube. And the European Union has already said it wants to free itself from all natural gas coming from Russia by 2027.
American sanctions targeting Gazprombank, the group's financial arm, also have a direct impact on Gazprom's finances.
On Friday, Washington and London sanctioned its oil subsidiary Gazprom Neft. An “unjustified and illegitimate” decision, according to the subsidiary.
Related News :