Big Layoffs at Gazprom Armenia

In the near future, the army of unemployed in Armenia will increase by several thousand. Mass layoffs are taking place at Gazprom Armenia LLC. The company's press service clarified: “Approximately 1,000 employees are set to be laid off, which will be carried out in phases, in compliance with the requirements of the RA labor code. In this regard, the company is working to prepare the legal grounds for the layoffs.”

The reason for the layoffs is the newly approved tariff, which is lower than what Gazprom Armenia had proposed. It should be recalled that in its submitted application, Gazprom proposed to set the average gas tariff for 1,000 cubic meters at $283.14, instead of the current $255.06, while the Public Services Regulatory Commission set it at $266.71 on June 19.

Most of the layoffs will involve supervisors—around 700 to 800 people—as well as various administrative employees. The employees also reported that salaries and bonuses will be reduced, which was confirmed by the company: “Within the framework of the decision to establish the tariffs for the natural gas sold to consumers by Gazprom Armenia LLC, new figures for the number of employees and the annual salary fund have been set, which are lower than the current figures for the company's staff and annual salary fund… A financial imbalance has arisen, necessitating a 20% reduction in the remuneration of all employees due to changes in economic conditions as stipulated by the RA labor code,” the newspaper writes.