Salary cuts in Avito in Armenia

On August 1, the Avito company presented employees registered in Armenia with a choice: either a reduction in wages by 30-40%, or dismissal with compensation for 1 month of work. Here is the story of one of the employees.

I transferred to Armenia in September 2022. I had to move anyway – my husband’s work was not ready to continue cooperation with those who remained in Russia. And initially “Keh Armenia” was positioned as a way out of such a hopeless situation.

The conditions sounded normal: the salary was converted NET to NET at the internal rate of the company, which was slightly higher than the rate of the Central Bank. Then they started to change. First, in December, everyone was transferred to VAT to VAT – the difference between the Russian personal income tax of 13% and the Armenian 20% was deducted from the salary “in hand”. In April, the internal exchange rate changed. In May, I received a pay raise that was affected by both. If in rubles the amount sounded good, then after deducting an additional 7% and recalculating salaries at the new rate, the increase turned out to be not particularly large.

In July, a communication came about a reduction in premiums. Now, instead of 100% of the salary, the company promised about 70% for super results. This was explained by fairness in relation to those who work in Russian legal entities and receive a salary in rubles. It seemed that that was all – then only the closure of “Keh Armenia” and the reduction of all employees. But the company turned out to be more insidious.

Now the choice is between a salary-roulette and dismissal to nowhere. Both chairs are beautiful, you don’t know which one to choose. My husband and I planned to move further to Europe, and my new salary would not be much higher than the minimum in a new place. This is at least insulting and at most inconvenient, because I will spend not rubles, but euros.

The attitude towards Avito has changed a lot this year, because the company does not keep its word, and even the employment contract does not mean anything to it – we will fix it, terminate it, no question. Even assuming that I agree to the new conditions, it will be difficult to continue working as before. After all, my contribution to the launch of new products and profit growth does not even give me stability – it turns out that everything is in vain.

A group of employees will challenge the legality of the company’s actions. We will follow the events and publish news in our telegram channel. If you are an Avito employee in Armenia or have encountered a similar situation at your job, write to our telegram bot.