Russian carmakers are fully experiencing the drop in sales on the domestic market. AvtoVaz, GAZ and UAZ, the 3 major local companies, have seen orders for new cars and light commercial vehicles drop, respectively, by 15, 9 and 15 percent in 2013 compared with the previous year, according to the European Business Association. This situation is leading to mass layoffs and short-time working in the industry. AvtoVaz, of which Renault-Nissan group is a majority shareholder, announced, in late January, 7,500 job cuts in its Togliatti plant, i.e. about 11 percent of the workforce.
About 1,500 older workers will retire, 1,000 will retire early. The carmaker encourages people to leave by offering several months’ pay to those who volunteer. This offer will stand for 3 months. Those who leave in February will receive 5 months’ pay – 4 if they leave in March and 3 in April. A workers’ average salary amounts to RUB 20,000 (about €416). AvtoVaz’s new Swedish chairman, Bo Andersson, former manager of General Motors, also announced cost cutting on all positions. The company’
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