Gloria Jeans, Russia’s largest clothing manufacturer, is shutting down its production facilities in Shakhty and Novoshakhtinsk, Rostov Oblast, due to significant personnel outflow to the war against Ukraine, according to Russian news outlet Interfax.

This follows a pattern of major companies, including IKEA, Shell, and Carlsberg, that have either closed or reduced their operations in Russia due to wartime personnel shortages and challenging business conditions.

Employees at the facilities have received termination notices effective 31 March, with approximately 1,500 workers set to lose their jobs.

Vladimir Melnikov, founder and chairman of Gloria Jeans, explained to Interfax that “the lack of new technologies for business efficiency development and losses caused by the outflow of personnel to the war are the key reasons for production cuts.”

As of late 2023, Gloria Jeans operated more than 700 stores across over 300 cities in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The company had previously resumed operations in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk in 2015, prompting an investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine in 2017.

According to reports, Gloria Jeans now plans to relocate its production to Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan.

The Russian Armed Forces, which maintain approximately 1.5 million active personnel, have suffered significant losses since the war against Ukraine began nearly three years ago. Recent updates indicate that around 700,000 Russian troops have been killed, injured, or gone missing. Of these casualties, an estimated 400,000 are either deceased or too severely wounded to return to active duty.

These substantial losses have forced Russia to increasingly rely on draftees, prisoners, and foreign troops, including those from North Korea, as recruitment efforts struggle to maintain adequate force levels.

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