Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ An ongoing crisis at Russian Railways is deepening, with a 50% cut on payments to employees and such a severe shortage of personnel that some divisions of the company are down to 40% of their intended staff numbers. Despite this, it has imposed a ban on hiring. ⬇️

2/ The state-owned railway monopoly has been facing a worsening staffing and financial crisis, brought on by a combination of a lack of spare parts caused by sanctions, economic problems and staff leaving for much better-paid jobs in the army or factories.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1853532302749679746

3/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that the company is trying to fix the hole in its finances by drastically cutting expenses on employee costs and banning hiring new people. Bonuses have been cancelled, leading to a large reduction in salaries.

4/ Russian Railways' salaries are already low, at around 70,000 rubles ($837) a month, and uncompetitive with military or factory jobs. The cancellation of quarterly bonuses is equivalent to a 30 to 50% pay cut, a loss equivalent to 50-100,000 rubles (up to $1,195).

5/ Despite this, the company claims that its revenue grew by 6.4% in Q1 2025 and amounted to 13.3 billion rubles ($159 million), with revenue for the operating period growing by 12.6% to 773.2 billion ($9.2 billion). Managers have awarded themselves a 50 million ruble bonus pot.

6/ The company's supposed profitability is hard to reconcile with its disastrous staffing situation, which is almost certainly seriously affecting its daily operations. Staff turnover is reported to average 12% and is as high as 35% among those in their first year of employment.

7/ Thousands of vacancies reportedly exist at railway stations for vital roles such as train operators, dispatchers and duty officers. Track workers are in even shorter supply, with figures put at only 40 to 60% of the required numbers.

8/ Last year, Russian Railways issued an appeal to retired personnel and railway veterans to return to help out with the staffing crisis. It seems likely that this has not met with much success.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1867551633380397076

9/ The crisis on Russian Railways has profound implications for Russia's economy. The company has a monopoly on rail transport in Russia, which still depends heavily on the railways. Over 40% of the country’s total transport turnover is accounted for by rail. /end

Source:
t.me/rucriminalinfo…