Russia’s largest ferroalloy producer will shift to a four-day workweek for its administrative staff starting Sept. 1, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday, as the country’s metallurgical industry continues to grapple with mounting financial pressures.

The Chelyabinsk Electrometallurgical Plant (ChEMK), which produces 80% of the nation’s ferroalloy used in steelmaking, attributed the move to significant fluctuations in exchange rates, “adverse market conditions” for ferroalloys and a notable reduction in demand from industrial clients.

The company said these factors have forced the launch of an “anti-crisis program.”

“From September 1, all administrative employees in structural divisions will transition to a reduced schedule that will remain in effect through the end of 2025. There are no planned layoffs,” the plant said in a press statement.

The updated workweek will be implemented for 1,200 employees.

Company officials said that a return to the standard schedule is possible should market conditions and currency fluctuations stabilize.

ChEMK was nationalized in 2024 after a court in the Sverdlovsk region ordered the transfer of shares in ChEMK, Serov Ferroalloy Plant and Kuznetsk Ferroalloys — companies that made up the ChEMK Group — to the Russian state.