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With more than 1.000 mass layoffs in Russia's mining sector already announced and wage arrears totaling 46 million rubles (R$2,3 million), workers are on strike as mines close indefinitely amid billion-dollar losses in the coal sector.
Living four months without a salary, while watching your industry crumble like a sand castle. That is exactly what is happening in Russia, where the coal mining industry is facing one of its biggest crises. Mass layoffs in Russia are already a reality in regions such as Kuzbass, and desperate workers have even resorted to hunger strikes, according to the UK's Express newspaper.
An industry in collapse
The Russian mining sector has always been a key piece in the country's economy, especially in regions such as Kuzbass. However, Western sanctions have imposed a brutal barrier to coal exports, cutting off access to crucial markets.
Revenues have plummeted, with companies including Sibcoal Management and Razrez Evtinsky Novy announcing indefinite closures. Reliance on markets such as China and India has not brought the expected relief. Exports to China fell 8%, while shipments to India plunged 55% in the first half of 2024 alone.
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Mass layoffs in Russia: A blow to workers
In Kuzbass, the heartland of coal mining, the reality is stark. More than 1.000 miners have been given layoff notices, and the number could rise. To make matters worse, the Inskaya mine, the scene of a recent hunger strike, is a symbol of the workers’ desperation.
Without wages for months and with promises broken by management, miners are literally fighting for their survival. The mine’s wage debt has already reached a staggering 46 million rubles (2,3 million reais), leaving entire families without a livelihood.
The economic crisis in the coal sector
Os numbers are relentless: Mining sector losses increased 4,1 times compared to the previous year, reaching $1,9 billion. 52% of companies in the sector are operating in the red. The impact is also being felt in public coffers. Tax revenues in Kuzbass have plummeted by 59%, and regions such as Buryatia are facing similar declines. It’s a perfect storm, where each falling piece directly affects the other, creating a devastating domino effect.
The economic crisis has quickly turned into a humanitarian crisis. Entire communities that once depended on the mines now face mass unemployment and a lack of prospects. The striking workers are the most visible symbol of this desperation, but the impact goes further. Schools, hospitals and small local businesses are also feeling the impact.
The future of mining in Russia
Is there a way out of this crisis? Some experts believe that diversifying markets and investing in renewable energy sources could be a long-term solution. However, in the short term, the government needs to act to prevent social collapse. What is clear is that the Russian mining sector is at a crossroads.
The mining crisis in Russia goes beyond numbers and graphs. It is a story of people struggling to survive, while an entire industry faces an unprecedented challenge. The mass layoffs in Russia are just the tip of the iceberg of a crisis that could redefine the country’s future.
Russia reaping the fruits of the special operation, I think that's not enough!
Update yourself. LOL
Russia chose this path, it invaded a sovereign nation, for no reason, just to demonstrate power and steal land, soon it will happen like 92, total bankruptcy and misery, I feel sorry for the Russian people.
In too. Because the war is not theirs, it is the shit pudding's.
There is money for war... You have to get screwed and it's billions, pudding
of ****
The US and its European vassals committing criminal atrocities in collusion.
Sanctions (economic embargo) are that.
They do this against several countries (Venezuela and Cuba) are also examples of this cruelty.
Venezuela and Cuba, two countries with dictators where people only do what they want, what can we expect??
Seriously, dictators only look at their own belly button, only at the top of the pyramid and where only family members are part of it.
Since there are uninformed people...the embargoes imposed on Russia are for reasons of unjustified invasion under the pretext of denazifying Ukraine. No country in the world has the right to invade a sovereign nation. With respect to the embargoes imposed on Cuba and Venezuela by the United States, they are perfectly justifiable, since these are countries where their presidents commit several abuses against the nation, with disappearances of people, arrests without warrants, violence, deaths, robbery and the squandering of the entire nation, leaving the people in total misery, just like Venezuela.