Prisoners to manufacturer vehicles for this automaker

Besides the prolonged supply chain crisis, the global auto industry has been facing several headwinds. One of them is the growing shortage of workforce. As the restrictions emerging due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in many migrant workers leaving for their origin countries, several countries such as US and Russia are facing a significant workforce shortage.

In such a scenario, Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz is considering the inclusion of prisoners in its workforce. According to a report by Autoblog, the Russian truck manufacturer is planning to bring in prisoners to work at its large manufacturing plants to compensate for a workforce deficit.

Kamaz CEO Sergei Kogogin said on Friday that the auto manufacturing company is assessing how to apply the program developed by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service. The Russian authorities earlier this year proposed a plan to use convicts to supplement the workforce.

As the Russian auto company claims, it is facing a shortage of 4,000 workers at its production facility in Naberezhnye Chelny, an industrial city more than 900 kilometres east of Moscow. The factory currently has around 24,000 employees.

The auto company has already brought in migrant workers from Uzbekistan to offset the workforce deficit. Now, it is considering looking to Russian prisons for labourers. The workforce shortage has forced authorities and private companies to explore ways to fill the workforce shortage.

This is not the first time auto companies are employing prisoners for manufacturing vehicles. During World War, some axis powers employed their prisoners to work in vehicle manufacturing plants.