Russian state energy corporation "Gazprom" has admitted it is considering cutting head office staff by 40%.
This is stated in the analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
"Gazprom" may be concerned about the long-term consequences that the war in Ukraine and the reduction of Russian gas exports to Europe will have on the Russian gas industry.
The Leningrad-based media outlet 47news, which is affiliated with the Russian state censor Roskomnadzor, reported on January 13 that the deputy CEO of "Gazprom" Elena Ilyukhina sent a proposal to the company's CEO Alexei Miller on December 23, stating that Gazprom's St. Petersburg headquarters should reduce its staff by 40% - from 4,100 to 2,500 people.
Ilyukhina's proposal to reduce Gazprom's workforce is likely an attempt to cope with economic pressures due to the reduction in Russian gas exports to Europe from 2022 and Ukraine's recent refusal to renew the contract for the transmission of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine.
The official representative of Gazprom Sergei Kupriyanov confirmed the authenticity of the proposal on January 13 during an interview with the Kremlin news service TASS, but declined to comment further.
Russian forces recently cut the T-0405 Pokrovsk-Konstantinivka highway east of Pokrovsk and the T-0406 Pokrovsk-Mezhova highway southwest of Pokrovsk as part of their efforts to encircle Pokrovsk and Mirnograd.
Russian forces likely intend to cut Ukrainian ground communication lines to Pokrovsk and Mirnograd in order to force Ukrainian units to withdraw from the cities in the coming months.
Russian forces have recently advanced in the Kharkov, Borova, Pokrovsk, Kurakhovo, and Velika Novosilka directions.