UPDATE: Russia’s loss-making AvtoVAZ says to raise salaries by 6%

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MOSCOW/MAGNITOGORSK, Chelyabinsk Region, Jun 21 (PRIME) -- Russian car producer AvtoVAZ will raise wages for everyone except executives by 6% on July 1, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The AvtoVAZ president has decided to raise salaries by 6% for all categories of workers and employees except top managers on July 1, 2016,” the company said.

AvtoVAZ said in February that its net loss nearly tripled to 73.851 billion rubles in 2015 and amounted to 8.94 billion rubles in the first three months of this year compared with a 796 miilion ruble profit a year earlier. State-owned industrial corporation Rostec, whose joint venture with the Renault-Nissan alliance holds 74.5% in AvtoVAZ, said then it planned to take measures to bail out the company.

Newly appointed CEO Nicolas Maure said that the company has no plans to cut jobs.

Labor Minister Maxim Topilin said he will meet with Maure on Saturday to discuss employment issues at AvtoVAZ. “They have a four-day workweek now and in August, in August–September, they plan, maybe a partial three-day week. This poses a serious threat of people receiving lower wages.”

Topilin said that the ministry plans to help the Samara Region, where AvtoVAZ facilities are located, to arrange temporary works or retraining.

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