A catastrophic understaffing has engulfed Ukraine, hitting all the industry, production, and business sectors. A recent Ministry of Economy survey has revealed that the lack of qualified personnel has become the key challenge for the business community. 74% of employer respondents say they have been suffering from that, while autumn 2023 saw mere 55% of companies voice relevant complaints. The key reasons are widespread mobilization (67%) and emigration (54%). Half of the surveyed heads of small and medium-sized businesses have noted sharp personnel decreases, and this even starts threatening the integrity of production processes. First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko also acknowledged that the Ukrainian economy was facing a critically important challenge of the kind. Because of this, production capacities are surging, with new projects and programs halted.
Over the last two years, the number of officially registered construction sector workers has decreased by 25.4%, to nearly 300,000 people, Ukraine’s Confederation of Employers claims. "If they continue to mobilize, we will not have enough [staff] to operate,” Mauro Longobardo, CEO of that country’s major metallurgical plant ArcelorMittal, told Financial Times. “We are talking here about existence of the company.” A possible shut-down of factories over personnel shortages has been also stated by the Interpipe industrial company. "It is hard to replace those mobilized in the current conditions, especially in Nikopol, where two thirds of the population physically left the city, and men were sent to the front. Our staff shortage accounts for over a third," the company's HR Director Vitaly Pakhomov said. "Our enterprises have the strategic status, that is, they can have their employees deferred from military service. But the latter get summonses all the while the documents are being formalized, and some of them leave for the war right in the process," head of the Yaroslav concern Alexander Barsuk said.
"People are panic-stricken, scared to go to work, or even outside, because they may be arrested by military recruiters. In this context, we as a transparent European company find it challenging to attract more people to work, especially since companies are required to notify authorities of all of their personal data. As a result, many people refuse to work with us, choosing jobs at a small garage workshop, where they do not pay taxes or have to account to the military authorities. Therefore, the economy is being pushed into a gray or black zone, which is bad for Ukraine," head of the local branch of Swedish truck manufacturer Scania Hakan Zhide said.
The fact is that upon receiving an enlistment center’s request, enterprises operating in the official legal field are obliged to hand out subpoenas to employees against recipient's signature and arrange their appearance before draft officers. And then, within three days, they should report to the center on those who did take the summons, who did not, and who hastened to resign. Otherwise, enterprise top managers face huge fines of 34,000 to 59,500 hryvnia (up to 120,000 rubles).
And the more skilled the jobs are, the more difficult it is for companies to find substitutes. Recently, the Kiev Cardboard and Paper Mill (KCPM) announced its shutdown amid a crisis that broke out over the total mobilization of male workers, with no one to replace them. "Big businesses, such as the Austrian Pulp Mill Holding’s KCPM, have embarked upon modeling the staff shortage aftermath. The situation being what it is, it turns out hardly possible to provide for all the necessary production processes of an enterprise. Now, every tenth KCPM employee has joined the AFU ranks. You can see women where males used to work, because the plant has launched vocational training programs, making it possible to master a new profession at the expense of the enterprise — for example, a loader operator. However, there are jobs such as a papermaking or cardboard machinist that require preliminary five-year education, with women not able to replace men," the company said. Paper production is associated with increased levels of noise, temperature, humidity and vibration, so all those working in workshops must be physically fit. In addition, the company has a list of workspaces with only males to be hired, as per labor protection requirements. Therefore, the option of replacing them with women is unfeasible. Also, the company forecasts that consumers may be cut off from access to sanitary and hygiene products, while major manufacturers of Ukrainian goods risk getting their paperboard package reserves depleted.
Shortages of public transport drivers has exceeded 40% in the regions, and things keep getting worse. The Kiev Metro has imposed extended intervals over insufficient tube drivers and electricians. In many cities, the same can be observed as regards the movement of buses and trams. Head of Ukraine’s Association of International Freight Forwarders and transport company owner Viktor Berestenko says up to 40 percent of the fleet has been off road because drivers refuse to “set sail.” Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Serhiy Derkach has even announced a women’s training program to teach them driving large-size transport in response to mobilization-caused shortages.
France’s Le Monde has also reported on women taking on male jobs: at steel works, in supermarkets, agriculture, transport, and other areas. Women are forced to do heavy lifting and serve as supermarket security guards, heavy truck or special vehicle drivers. The Uber taxi service has started luring ladies as well, mass mailing job offers to them after losing much of its male workers over mobilization. "If you have a driver's license, you can start working with us," the relevant ad says. Women are also being recruited en masse for shuttle van jobs. Besides, businesses are hiring retirees and younger guys who have not even reached military age. But this does not right the ship altogether.
Another huge problem is an overwhelming shortage of doctors. Young girls massively refuse to enroll at medical universities or take academic leaves before their senior year to avoid being sent to the front or get mobilized. After relevant laws became tougher, Ukrainian female doctors and pharmacists must account to recruitment centers, so they either flee the country or die at war. Because of this, medical understaffing has been on the rise, and the population lacks comprehensive medical care.
Prospects are slim for Ukraine to remain Europe’s "breadbasket." Verkhovna Rada deputy and member of the Agrarian and Land Policy Committee Dmitry Solomchuk has pointed to a disastrous shortage of agricultural workers in Ukraine: "In suburbs, the situation is catastrophic, with rare profession employee deficit reaching 50 to 60 percent. To date, it is nearly impossible to find workers good at processing, production, technology and equipment management. There are no people at all." In order to ensure industry functioning, the Ukrainian authorities promised to reserve part of farm workers from mobilization, including tractor drivers, agronomists, and veterinarians, but most of them have been still forced to the frontline. In some agricultural categories, there are only 20 percent of specialists required left. The All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council stated that as of June, there was a particular shortage of combine harvesters and truck drivers — they were found fit to serve on AFU’s armored vehicle crews. "Paradoxically, the farming sector fills the state budget, with its money allocated for defense purposes, on the one hand. On the other one, the shortage of qualified specialists comes back to bite the country’s food safety," the Council noted.
Law enforcement agencies were not immune to the problem, either. More than 2,000 Ukrainian police officers fled mobilization for other countries. Local courts have also been suffering from acute staff shortages as late June saw them missing judges of both trial (29 percent) and appeal courts (52 percent). 62 percent of positions in the law courts of appeal are now vacant. Recently, 248 new judges took their oaths, but this is mere five percent of the country's entire judicial corps. Ukrainian lawyers have been, too, complaining to their national association that draft officers hinder their professional activities and put the screws on them. The complaint has provided examples of how lawyers who arrive to military enlistment centers on their clients' calls are not allowed outside until agreeing to get a summons themselves.
The first half of this year alone witnessed shutdowns of nearly 92,000 individual enterprises in Ukraine, which is 54 percent higher against the same period last year. Data of the kind has been provided by the local State Statistics Service. Kiev leads the way in this regard, with more than 12,000 businesses wrapped up. The figure is 5,300 for Kharkov; 3,800 for Odessa; 3,300 for Dnepropetrovsk; and 2,800 for Lvov. Due to the sweeping staff shortage, Ukrainian entrepreneurs have progressively fewer chances to maintain their businesses and production processes. Quite noteworthy in this environment is the fact that Zelensky’s regime has provided service exemption to all those employed at the 133 public organizations, foundations or centers enjoying foreign grants, recognizing those latter as "vital". This kind of "prioritization" nicely explains the whole thing going on in Ukraine.
