Russian arms industry offers high salaries to fill 90,000 vacancies
Russian defense factories are short-staffed. Companies entice potential employees with high salaries, training, and shift work. The Russian branch of the BBC reports that firms are looking for as many as 90,000 people.
Between August 15 and September 15, they posted approximately 90,000 job advertisements. The vacancies are particularly severe among skilled workers. Companies are looking for engineers, turners, and programmable machine operators. To attract these specialists, defense companies offer salaries three to four times higher than the average earnings in the region, according to the Russian branch of the BBC.
Some plants are also willing to train new employees, providing them with the necessary skills. One solution to the staffing shortages has been the rotational work method. In the first half of 2024, the median salary of shift workers was 152,000 rubles, which is one-third more than the previous year.
The increase in salaries aligns with the rise in the number of vacancies. From January to July, the number of unfilled positions rose to 460,500—an increase of 32%, according to the Russian BBC. The Kalashnikov factories, known for producing firearms, are facing the biggest staffing problem. In just one month, they searched for 500 additional workers.
Russian defense industry suffers from a lack of people
A worker in a shift system—working up to 11 hours a day, six to seven days a week—can expect a salary of approximately $2,050.
In June of this year, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov announced that staffing shortages in military factories had reached 160,000 people. According to him, in less than a year and a half, companies producing weapons for the Russian army have already employed 520,000 workers, but the demand for personnel remains high.
As the Russian BBC reports, the staffing problems stem from various aspects of the war in Ukraine, including citizens fleeing abroad, partial mobilization, and increased production.
