---
title: "\"If there are walls and money, but no people, it is a disaster\": Metinvest names the main challenge for Ukrainian metallurgy"
description: "Metinvest stated that the main challenge for Ukrainian metallurgy after the attacks is the preservation of qualified personnel: without people, production cannot be restored, even with money and equipment."
date: 2026-10-20T12:19:02.322Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/metinvest-main-challenge-metallurgy-personnel-preservation
tags: [metinvest, ukraine-metallurgy, industrial-production, labor-force, veterans, post-war-reconstruction, economy]
author: "Andrey Kosynko"
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# "If there are walls and money, but no people, it is a disaster": Metinvest names the main challenge for Ukrainian metallurgy

![Workers in protective helmets and overalls are pouring molten metal from a ladle at a Metinvest plant.](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/20/metinvest-glavny-vyzov-metallurgii-sohranenie-kadrov/metinvest-glavny-vyzov-metallurgii-sohranenie-kadrov-1.webp)

## Key Points

- Production at both Metinvest metallurgical enterprises has stopped after attacks; two of four mining plants are idle, two are loaded at less than 50%
- The main challenge of the industry is preserving qualified personnel, not finding funds for repairs
- One job in MMC creates up to eight in related industries
- Metinvest employs about 40,000 people, 8,500 serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
- The company is developing veteran adaptation programs and preferential admission to the corporate university

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.

## Fact-Check & Sources

- [Без людей восстановление невозможно: в "Метинвесте" назвали ключевой вызов для металлургии](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/lyudey-vidnovlennya-nemozhlive-metinvesti-1792498486.html) - Statement by Oleh Davydenko, Director of Corporate Communications at Metinvest Group. All figures (40,000 employees, 8,500 in the Armed Forces, 2 of 4 plants idle) are given in the source text. The mention of the attack on Zaporizhstal refers to a previously published article by the same publication.

## FAQ

### How many employees work at Metinvest and how many of them serve in the army?

The company employs about 40,000 people, and another 8,500 employees serve in the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

### What is happening to Metinvest's production after the attacks?

Production at both 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.

### Why does the company consider personnel preservation more important than equipment repair?

According to Oleh Davydenko, finding funds for equipment repair and restoration is possible, while replacing qualified specialists with years of training is extremely difficult. The loss of personnel will lead to rising unemployment and the loss of competencies that will be hard to return after the war.

### What programs for veterans does Metinvest offer?

The company develops programs to adapt veterans to civilian work and trains managers to interact with returned employees. The corporate university Metinvest Polytechnic accepts veterans into engineering specialties without exams, based only on interview results.