Russia is preparing to cut more than 100,000 public sector jobs
As of 1 April, the number of employees in state-funded organisations in Russia who have been recommended for redundancy stands at 105,147. This was reported by *Vedomosti*, citing data from Rostrud.
Compared to the middle of last year, planned redundancies have risen by 43 per cent, or by 32,000 employees.
The largest number of redundancies is expected in Moscow, the Moscow, Omsk and Irkutsk regions, as well as in the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The cuts primarily affect employees in the financial and tax sectors, healthcare, and state and local government bodies.
Preparations for the redundancies are taking place mainly in the public sector at regional and municipal levels. Oleg Sokolov, head of the FNPR’s Department of Social and Labour Relations, attributes this to a lack of funds due to deficits in the federal and regional budgets.
According to him, in the first three months of 2026, federal budget expenditure exceeded revenue by 4.6 trillion roubles, which is 21 per cent higher than the planned annual deficit. Regional budgets ended the previous year with a deficit of 1.5 trillion roubles.
Sokolov also noted that the cuts are linked to the goal of increasing labour productivity in the public sector. Furthermore, this process is influenced by digitalisation and the development of artificial intelligence, which reduces the need for staff.
Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced plans to cut 15 per cent of city administration officials and staff at subordinate agencies performing managerial functions. He attributed this to a slowdown in budget revenue growth. In January and February this year, revenues increased by 2 per cent, compared to the planned 6.5 per cent.
According to Sobyanin, cost optimisation is necessary to ensure the capital’s financial stability.
Earlier, a number of regions in Russia began delaying the payment of salaries to public sector workers. This includes, in particular, teachers in the Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Rostov, Arkhangelsk, Tambov and Ryazan regions, the Khabarovsk and Zabaykalsky Krais, Karelia, Udmurtia and Tuva.
Salary delays were also reported for employees of other public sector institutions in the Kemerovo region, Khakassia, the Trans-Baikal region and Novosibirsk.
