Mauro Longobardo, the CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest integrated mining and steel plant, issued a sharp warning on May 19 that the existence of the factory is being threatened by the shortage of manpower due to the war effort, reported Sputnik.
This was exacerbated in a new law signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a month ago, which lowered the age of conscription from 27 to 25, allowed for drafting some groups of convicts, and imposed stiff penalties for draft dodgers; the law came into effect on May 18.
Longobardo complained that the tactics used by military recruiters, which include standing at the entrance of the factory during shift changes, has prompted “some employees to turn back home and call in sick and potential new recruits to steer clear of the company.
“If they [Ukrainian authorities] continue to mobilize, we will not have enough [staff] to operate. We are talking here about the existence of the company,” he said.
The steel mill is desperately attempting to recruit more female employees, “with the firm placing huge billboards across the southern city of Krivoy Rog featuring young women in orange overalls with slogans such as ‘Ladies really run things here!’ in a bid to lure employees,” Sputnik reports.
