‘We are not making anybody redundant and there are no layoffs,’ the spokesperson for Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) Elena Azovtseva said to an UrBC reporter.

‘It’s true that fewer people are needed when the production output is on the decrease, and a certain number of workers will not be involved in the technological process. But this is only a temporary thing brought about by our personnel optimization policies. We’ve got plenty of multi-skilled employees whose expertise is used for other jobs, like overhauls, for example,’ she explained.