Nikolaev Alumina Refinery retains 400 employees after conflict halts production

Only 400 of the 5,000 employees remain at the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery, which ceased operations in March 2022 at the onset of the full-scale Russia-Ukraine conflict, an independent local media reported. According to Oleksii Medvid, the acting General Director of Nikolaev Alumina Refinery, the primary responsibilities of the remaining workers include maintaining two red mud (bauxite residue) storage facilities spanning approximately 400 hectares and safeguarding the company’s property.

Oleksii Medvid stated, "These 400 specialists oversee the preservation of the enterprise, its equipment, and two bauxite residue storage facilities. This is the only operational precinct within our company. The bauxite residue remains in storage and does not enter the precinct. It is crucial to monitor the dams."

He added that the company does not receive state assistance and meets all financial obligations, including employee salaries, from its own savings.

"We suspended labour relations with 80 per cent of our employees. They were not fired, just suspended. Those who wished to continue working have been retained. We kept specialists in the precincts and divisions familiar with the technology and equipment to ensure they can train new employees and restart the plant in the future," said Oleksii Medvid.

Three months ago, the Nikolaev Alumina Refinery, previously owned by Rusal, was successfully nationalised. Now, under the management of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (PFMU), MAP is the largest entity that has undergone nationalisation in Ukraine. However, the Russian manager Viktor Kozhevnikov remains listed as the General Director in the official register.