MOSCOW (Reuters) – Major Russian companies, including Sberbank and Gazprom, have decided to raise the salaries of their employees due to double-digit inflation and in order to avoid a brain drain abroad.
Inflation soared in Russia after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to the deployment of thousands of Russian troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Some sectors, such as the IT sector, have also had to deal with the exodus of workers, some in reaction to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, others seeking to seize opportunities abroad before Russia become more isolated.
According to the Russian Electronic Communications Association, nearly a month after the start of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, between 50,000 and 70,000 IT specialists had left the country.
Sberbank announced a salary increase of 8.5% on average, which will take effect on July 1. Its IT specialists, however, could benefit from a larger increase.
According to a source quoted by The Bell, a Russian media, Sberbank could offer salary increases of up to 20% to IT specialists in order to encourage them to stay in Russia. Sberbank declined to comment.
Interfax reported, citing industry sources, that Gazprom would raise salaries by 10% in July.
(Reuters report; French version Camille Raynaud edited by Sophie Louet)
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