Russia's largest cement producer cuts working week due to crisis

Russia's largest cement producer, Cemros, is switching employees of its management company and plants to a four-day work week starting October 1. The announcement was made on the company's website.

The reason for this step is a reduction in cement consumption and a growing share of imports in the Russian market.

If the economic situation in the construction industry improves and "demand in the domestic market recovers," the holding will return to a five-day week.

In early July, Cemros, which owns 18 plants and quarries for the extraction of non-metallic materials, announced the temporary suspension of the Belgorod Cement Plant. This happened "due to the deteriorating market conditions, decreased production profitability and an increase in the share of imported cement in the Russian construction market."

The company also cited a reduction in cement purchases by developers due to the high interest rate, the curtailment of unaddressed preferential mortgages, and a slowdown in construction projects.

In the first half of this year, demand for cement in Russia decreased by 8.6%, and in the second quarter by 10.5%. The company predicts that the decline in demand will continue and will reach at least 13-15% by the end of the year.

• Earlier, the transition to a shorter week was announced by the three largest automakers in Russia – GAZ, KamAZ and AvtoVAZ. Later, they were joined by the Likino Bus Plant (LiAZ). In July, the auto plant switched to a four-day work week amid a sharp decline in demand for buses (by 60%, according to the company).