Russian labor minister says not expecting massive personnel layoffs

MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Russian employers are not planning massive layoffs, according to Labor and Social Protection Minister Anton Kotyakov.

"There are no plans for massive layoffs in the labor market at this point," Kotyakov said at a meeting of the State Duma Labor Committee on Monday.

According to the ministry's monitoring, about 14,000 employees are on unpaid vacation, and about 50,000 employees have been warned about pending dismissals. Employment centers have not received additional notices of the kind lately, he said.

There are about 55 million hired employees in Russia today, Kotyakov said.