AvtoVAZ will partially resume operations at its Togliatti and Izhevsk plants from March 16 despite a persistent shortage of components, Russia’s biggest automaker said.
AvtoVAZ says it has taken the decision because it wants to protect the incomes of its staff in Russia.
The automaker, which is controlled by Renault, stopped its Togliatti and Izhevsk plants for a couple of days this month as it grapples with a crisis in supplies of electronic components.
The partial resumption of production comes amid the “ongoing crisis in electronic components supplies and in order to prevent a significant decrease in the level of income of the company’s staff,” AvtoVAZ said in a statement.
The company would separately announce a work schedule for the period after March 18, it said.
Renault, which returned to profit in 2021 after two years of losses, is among Western companies most exposed in Russia, where it makes 8 percent of its core earnings, according to Citibank.
The French automaker suspended some operations at its own car assembly plant in Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine due to logistics bottlenecks that have caused component shortages.
Source: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/avtovaz-partially-reopen-car-assembly-plants-next-week