“Without us, the country risks being in economic decline”, these workers have moved their factory far from the fighting

“It was completely empty here, we had to arrange everything in the workshop“: Dimitri is the director of this company with about fifteen employees. He had to move his factory from bolt making 250 km from his home, in Dnipro, the great industrial heart of the country, in this warehouseten times smaller.

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He had no choice: it was becoming too dangerous to work for his employees in Kramatorsk. “Our factory was hit… We were on the front line from the first days of the war. The windows were blown out by an explosion, some of our employees saw their apartment damaged. And now the fighting is getting more and more intense. We only evacuated the machines transportable by trucks. For the bigger ones, you have to load them on trains, but the rails are broken“, blows the boss.

If a dozen employees in research and development work remotely from Kramatorsk, the workers, like Michael, did not really have a choice. In front of his machine which “pressing support bolts, diameter and thread M16“, he sits up in his chair: he hasn’t lost his work habits, because “this is all temporary, he slips, showing a hint of concern for his family. “I am from Donetsk. There are still my sister and my parents under the bombs… “

“No, I’m not starting a new life here, I hope it will all be over soon.”

Ukraine has lost around 30% of its jobs since the end of February, which corresponds to 4.8 million jobs wiped off the map in just a few weeks, according to figures released by the International Labor Organization.

Here, the factory continues its production, somehow. In particular, very technical bolts are manufactured there for metallurgy, gas transport and oil platforms. Although she is a reference in her field, Dimitri does not prefer to think about the turnover of her company: “Before the war, we made about 100 tons of parts per month. Now we hope to increase our production capacity by 30 tons.“

Andriy, an engineer, considers this to be his contribution to the war: “We would like to be at home but without us, our country risks being in economic decline. We came to settle here to help with our skills… We are the economic forces.” The company has suspended its contracts with Russia and Belarus and is now trying to break into the European market.