There is no workload for a five-day work week; employees are being sent on unpaid leave.
The general director of MAZ has appealed to the Ministry of Industry of Belarus for help in finding employees. Meanwhile, workers at other enterprises of the holding are being sent on unpaid leave.
The Minsk Automobile Plant is the flagship of the automotive industry in Belarus. The company specializes in the production of trucks, passenger vehicles, trailers, and special equipment. The enterprise manufactures about 500 models and modifications of trucks and all-wheel-drive vehicles, dump trucks, chassis, tractors, timber carriers, trailers and semi-trailers, cranes, and other special equipment, as well as about 15 models of buses, trolleybuses, and electric buses. The plant employs about 15,000 people, while the holding "BELAVTOMAZ," which includes the Minsk company, has over 20,000 employees.
A confidential document has come into the possession of the media - a letter from the general director of OJSC "MAZ" (the managing company of the holding "BELAVTOMAZ") Valery Ivankovich to the Ministry of Industry. "According to the document, the situation is close to critical: the enterprise lacks 397 employees to fulfill the production plan," noted the Telegram channel BELPOL. "The general director of the plant, Ivankovich, officially appeals to the Minister of Industry with a request to urgently provide the plant with labor. More than half of all the missing specialists are mechanical assembly fitters, a key category for assembly production. Without them, fulfilling the plan is simply impossible."
A total of workers are requested for 28 specialties. According to the document, employees are needed for the bus and thermomechanical plants of the holding to fulfill the production plan for the first quarter of 2026.
Authorities acknowledge the staffing problem in Belarus: the number of dismissals exceeds the number of hires. Deputy Minister of Economy Tatyana Brantsevich called the problem "a long-term and strategic challenge in both quantitative and qualitative aspects." According to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, after the 2020 elections, up to 500,000 Belarusians left the country. More than 790,000 citizens of Belarus live abroad, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Despite the serious staff shortage, about 50 vacancies are posted on the MAZ website. A leading engineer-technologist is sought for a salary of up to 3,500 rubles (1,045 euros), a machine setter for up to 5,000 rubles (1,493 euros), a milling machine operator for up to 4,000 rubles (1,195 euros), a lathe operator for up to 3,800 rubles (1,135 euros), an electrician for up to 2,590 rubles (774 euros), and a mechanic for up to 4,700 rubles (1,404 euros).
At the same time, the holding "BELAVTOMAZ" includes 12 enterprises, including in regions where the salary level is lower. For example, at the "Volmet" plant in Volkovysk, a lathe operator is sought for 2,500 rubles (746 euros), and an electrical erosion technician is offered up to 1,400 rubles (418 euros). At the "Grodno Mechanical Plant," a mechanic for assembling metal structures is offered up to 3,157 rubles (942 euros), and an engineer-technologist up to 2,174 rubles (649 euros). The plant for the production of "Braking Equipment and Mechanisms" in Bobruisk is looking for a mechanical engineer for 1,500 rubles (448 euros), a heat treatment technician for 1,600 rubles (478 euros), and a master for 1,500 rubles (448 euros).
At the same time, in the regions, employees are being sent on unpaid leave. "There is no workload for a five-day work week," a source at the Bobruisk plant told DW. "They force you to write a request for unpaid leave; it is impossible to refuse - you will be left without a job."
A similar situation, according to sources, is developing at the plants in Baranovichi, Grodno, and Volkovysk. "The workshops are not heated - they are saving," a worker at "Volmet" reported. "In winter, during severe frosts, it was only a few degrees warm inside."
How Have Sanctions Affected MAZ's Operations?
MAZ has been under sanctions from the USA, EU, Canada, and Switzerland since 2021. The company attempted to challenge the restrictions in the European court but unsuccessfully. After Alexander Lukashenko supported Vladimir Putin in the war against Ukraine, MAZ effectively lost the Ukrainian market, where it was one of the leading suppliers.
European and American companies are prohibited from cooperating with the holding, and its foreign assets are frozen. The Ministry of Industry acknowledged that the restrictions significantly complicated the work of enterprises: there were problems with the supply of technologies and equipment. Alternatives had to be sought in Russia and China, and the production of some components was urgently attempted to be established in Belarus.
Since 2022, media reports about Belarusian buses catching fire in Russia have regularly appeared. The management of the plant cited Western restrictions as one of the reasons. The enterprise had to make design changes due to sanctions - in particular, replacing the planned German Mercedes engines with Chinese Weichai engines. Additionally, problems were linked to the quality of electrical equipment installation and the operation of the "Epotos" fire extinguishing system of Russian production.
Russia remains the main market for MAZ; however, supply volumes are steadily decreasing. According to the agency "Avtostat," in 2023, 6,333 MAZ trucks were sold in Russia, in 2024 - 5,309, and in 2025 - 3,274 vehicles, which means a 43% drop in a year. Bus sales also declined: 925 units in 2023, 504 in 2024, and 499 in 2025.
Last year, KamAZ, as well as Chinese brands Sitrak, FAW, and Shacman, entered the list of the largest truck brands in the Russian market. MAZ ranked fifth, yielding to both the Russian manufacturer and the main Chinese competitors.
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