Sanctions and the war are taking a toll on Russia’s IT sector. In mid-December, The Bell reported widespread layoffs across the country, hitting both tech companies and IT departments in other industries. Now, Russia’s largest bank, which owns a sprawling network of services, is following suit, slashing jobs at four subsidiaries. While executives cite “resource optimization,” industry sources point to growing financial struggles. Here’s what we know about the layoffs shaking Russia’s tech industry.
Several of Sberbank’s subsidiaries have begun laying off employees en masse, including IT specialists. The cuts are hitting staff at the delivery services Kuper and Samokat, the e-commerce platform Megamarket, and the logistics company SberLogistics. The Telegram channel IT Workers’ Union was the first to report the layoffs, on January 15, citing employees from the companies. Sources at CNews and Vedomosti later confirmed the news, though Sberbank hasn’t commented publicly.
The four companies laying off workers are all part of Ecom.tech, Sberbank’s IT division. The IT Workers’ Union estimates that 30–50 percent of employees in these companies are losing their jobs. A manager at Kuper told Vedomosti that Ecom.tech plans to cut about 20 percent of its 8,000 IT workers — roughly 1,600 people. Job search platforms have already seen a surge in resumes from Sberbank affiliates, according to the union.
Two former Kuper employees told Vedomosti that HR representatives justified the layoffs as “resource optimization.” A manager explained that the cuts were framed as necessary to demonstrate profitability by reducing costs. A department head at Ecom.tech told CNews the explanation was “budget cuts and orders from above.”
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The head of an IT recruitment firm told Vedomosti that in January, Sberbank announced it was halting investments in Ecom.tech. The source, citing a senior Ecom.tech manager, added that there are plans to eliminate up to 50 percent of the division’s workforce, starting with interns and junior specialists.
The layoffs have hit Megamarket particularly hard due to its financial losses, a former Samokat IT employee told Vedomosti. According to him, Megamarket cut around 25 percent of its IT staff. Another Ecom.tech IT specialist gave CNews the same figure. A Kuper manager told Vedomosti that Megamarket had been struggling since December.
A developer at SberTech, another Sberbank subsidiary, said management announced in early December 2024 that it would cut unprofitable operations, including outsourced roles. According to him, outsourcing firms were informed just weeks before their contracts ended that renewals wouldn’t happen. “Employees were kept in the dark until the last minute, likely in the hope that things would improve. In the end, they were told in one day that their projects were gone,” the developer said.
In mid-December, The Bell reported that widespread layoffs of IT specialists had begun across Russia, affecting both tech companies and IT departments in other industries. Among the companies impacted were VK, MTS, and the property developer Samolet Group.
