Ukrzaliznytsia faced the problem of a lack of qualified personnel, which negatively affects the company’s efficiency. About this told general director of UZ Yevhen Lyashchenko during Business Breakfast by Forbes Ukraine. According to him, in some professional areas, the shortage of workers reaches 20-30%.
As Lyashchenko noted, the company is a strategically important asset for Ukraine, on which the functioning of many sectors of the economy and the well-being of citizens depend. However, from 2021, the number of UZ employees decreased from 226,000 to 184,000 as of September 2024. About 5,000 more employees are engaged in work at affiliated enterprises. Among the workers, 10,500 are in the ranks of the ZSU, and about 2,000 have returned to the company since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Lyashchenko also drew attention to the fact that despite the company’s personnel expenses, which amount to 50-60% of the budget, the salary level in the UZ remains lower than the market. This is one of the reasons for the lack of personnel in the company.
“Our main challenge for the next three to five years is to retain critical personnel”, he emphasized.
The company plans to fight this challenge through salary increases and the introduction of new technologies.
“One of the solutions is the automation of processes and the unification of some professions”, – added Lyashchenko.
However, he noted that over the next two years, automation will only redeploy existing staff, and that reductions in manpower requirements will not be possible until four years later.
