KamAZ may cut its workweek to 4 days again as Russian truck sales fall and Chinese surplus weighs on market
KamAZ may cut its workweek to four days starting June 1 as heavy truck sales in Russia fall, the company’s press service told the Russian business news outlet RBC.
The company said it was considering the move because of weak market growth prospects and pressure from surplus Chinese-made equipment. KamAZ also plans to reduce its annual truck production target.
Sources at the plant told RBC that the four-day schedule has not been finalized. The final decision, they said, will depend on results in April and May.
KamAZ’s chief executive, Sergei Kogogin, has previously said the company does not expect to turn a profit in 2026 and hopes to at least break even for the year.
KamAZ posted a loss from sales of 22.9 billion rubles in 2025, compared with a profit of 909 million rubles in 2024. The truck maker’s gross profit fell by nearly 32 times, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.
In the summer of 2025, Russian automakers KamAZ, GAZ, and AvtoVAZ shifted to a four-day workweek amid a market crisis linked in part to the central bank’s high key interest rate. KamAZ also cited the ”shortsighted policies” of foreign importers, who brought in an excess of equipment in 2024. In November 2025, KamAZ returned to a five-day schedule.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.