In Russia, the Avtovaz plant is facing a wave of mass layoffs, prompting management to offer “side jobs” to skilled workers within the facility’s auxiliary areas.
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, as cited by Ukrinform, many production employees have been reassigned to non-core duties such as cleaning workshops and basements or repairing factory conveyors.
Workers transferred to these auxiliary roles have raised concerns about unsafe and unhygienic conditions — citing outdated infrastructure, poor ventilation, malfunctioning equipment, and coolant leaks that must be manually collected.
In the first nine months of 2025, sales of Lada vehicles in Russia dropped by 24.9 per cent to 237,700 units, with the brand’s market share slipping to 26.5 per cent.
Amid the downturn, the struggling automaker has also sought to generate additional revenue through its network of dealers.