Russian restaurants and cafés complain of catastrophic staff shortage

Russian catering establishments are facing a "catastrophic" staff shortage due to the demographic crisis and an exodus of migrants.

Source: Russian online newspaper The Moscow Times, citing Russian newspaper Kommersant, which talked to industry representatives about the problems they face

Details: "We don't understand how we can staff a new restaurant if existing outlets have a 20% staff shortage," said Yevgeny Nichipuruk, founder of the Rakovaya gastrobar chain. He says the shortage of employees is now holding back the development of Russia's food service industry.

Elena Vanyashina, Development Director at Yasno Restaurants and HR Director of Gagawa, confirmed the problem. She believes the situation will only get worse as the demographic and migration crises gain momentum.

A study conducted by the job search portal HeadHunter and the Kroshka Kartoshka fast food chain indicates that the number of job vacancies in the catering sector increased by 28% between January and September 2024 compared to the same period last year.

The highest increase in demand was for cleaning staff, which grew by 41%, followed by delivery drivers at 31%, waiters and bartenders at 30%, bookkeepers at 29%, and managers at 22%.

Analysts estimate that Russia's food service industry lacks about 30,000 employees.

Background: Russian telecoms equipment manufacturers facing a shortage of domestic components have asked the government to reconsider the terms of import substitution.

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