The Kremlin’s war against Ukraine is causing an exodus of young IT professionals. Large Russian corporations offer drastic salary increases in order to keep their top talent. Gazprom, for example, added ten percent in July. But for the ruble it is weaker in the weekend.
In Russia, large corporations are trying to stop the emigration of executives and IT specialists with significant salary increases. With the wage supplements, companies are also reacting to inflation, which recently amounted to more than 16 percent. In the face of this development, Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, and gas giant Gazprom, for example, raised salaries this month in a bid to retain top talent.
The IT industry in particular is struggling with migration. In March, the Association of Electronic Communications announced that 50,000 to 70,000 IT specialists left Russia. However, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at the end of May, citing cellphone communication data, that around 85 percent of IT professionals had returned. It is believed that given Russia’s international isolation due to the invasion of Ukraine, many of those who have quit their jobs are looking for a future career abroad. Opponents of the invasion, known in Russia as a special operation, can also be among those who have given up their jobs.
Sberbank said it increased salaries by an average of 8.5 percent as of July 1. IT employees can apparently hope for a significantly larger surcharge. The magazine “The Bell”, citing a bank employee, reported that specialists could be offered salary increases of up to 20 percent. Sberbank declined to comment on the report.
The Russian news agency Interfax, citing industry circles, reported that Gazprom will increase salaries by ten percent in July. Alfa Bank increased the salaries of its more than 27,000 employees by 15 percent in April. The steel producer Severstal granted a wage increase of nine percent in April after making a one-off payment in mid-February. Concerns about salaries are heightened by the Russian ruble as a currency. The ruble, supported by capital controls, rose to a seven-year high against the dollar this week. However, it is expected to lose value over the longer term. The ruble weakened at the weekend and fell by seven percent.
