The Ukrainian mining and metallurgical sector has found itself under the simultaneous pressure of three factors: direct attacks on production facilities, port operation problems, and restrictions introduced at the European Union level. This was stated in an interview with RBC-Ukraine by Oleh Davydenko, Director of Corporate Communications at Metinvest Group. According to him, following the attacks, production at both of the company's metallurgical enterprises has completely stopped, two of the four mining and processing plants are idle, and the other two are operating at less than 50% capacity. Under these conditions, Davydenko emphasizes, the key problem is not so much finding funding to repair equipment, but rather preserving qualified personnel teams, without which the recovery of the industry will be impossible.
From shutdown to resumption: the company is not talking about conservation
Metinvest stresses that the current situation is not viewed as a simple shutdown or conservation of production. "We are not talking about a simple shutdown or conservation. We are talking about resumption. We do not know when and how this will happen, but today we are involving every employee in assessing damage and planning recovery," Davydenko stated. Despite the shutdown of the main production lines, the company continues to pay salaries to employees and redirects them to related tasks: clearing rubble, assessing the scale of damage, and preparing infrastructure for startup. According to management, this approach allows keeping the team in working order and preventing the disintegration of professional teams during a period of forced downtime.
Human capital as a strategic resource
Davydenko emphasized that finding funds and restoring equipment is a matter of time and resources, whereas replacing qualified specialists who have undergone years of training is extremely difficult. "Finding funds and restoring equipment is sooner or later possible. It will be much harder to find qualified specialists. If a moment comes when we have walls, equipment, and money, but we do not have people to resume production, it will be a disaster," he noted. Metinvest currently employs about 40,000 people, and another 8,500 company employees are serving in the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Massive loss of personnel in the industry, according to the company representative, could lead to rising unemployment, labor migration, and the irreversible loss of specialists who will be extremely difficult to return to the profession after the end of hostilities.
Economic multiplier: one job creates up to eight
The loss of personnel in the mining and metallurgical complex, according to Davydenko, will have consequences far beyond the industry itself. One job in MMC typically creates up to eight jobs in related sectors—logistics, maintenance, supplies, and construction. Thus, the reduction or disintegration of metallurgical enterprise teams hits an entire cluster of related economies. That is why preserving personnel teams is viewed not as a social program, but as an issue of national economic security.
Veterans and education: adaptation programs are already launched
A separate area of the company's work remains the return of veterans to civilian life. Metinvest develops adaptation programs, trains managers and teams to interact with employees who have returned from the army, and maintains contact with mobilized workers and their families. The corporate university Metinvest Polytechnic offers veterans preferential admission to promising engineering specialties: admission is conducted without entrance exams, based solely on interview results. According to the company, Metinvest accounts for about a third of all veterans who have returned to work at large Ukrainian businesses. Davydenko concluded: "The main rule is to invest. And any investment project must begin with the first line: people and their competencies. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in education and the preservation of specialists."
Context: a series of attacks on metallurgical facilities
Davydenko's statement came against the backdrop of ongoing Russian strikes on Ukraine's industrial infrastructure. It was previously reported about the fifth consecutive attack on Zaporizhstal, with six ballistic missiles fired at the plant. Repeated strikes on key enterprises in the industry make the issue of restoration not just a production task, but a systemic challenge for the entire country's economy, where metallurgy historically occupies a central place in GDP, exports, and employment.
