From railways and automobiles to metals, coal, diamonds and cement, some of Russia's biggest industrial companies are putting employees on furlough or cutting staff as the war economy slows, domestic demand stalls and exports dry up.

The efforts to reduce labor costs show the strain on Russia's economy as President Vladimir Putin and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance square off in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Six companies in Russia's mining and transport sectors, many of them industrial titans, were identified as having cut their working week in an attempt to reduce wage bills without raising unemployment, according to industry sources.

Cemros, Russia's biggest cement maker, has moved to a four-day week until the end of the year to preserve staff amid a sharp downturn in the construction industry and a rise in cement imports.

"This is a necessary anti-crisis measure," said Cemros spokesperson Sergei Koshkin. "The goal is to keep all our staff." The company has 13,000 employees and 18 plants across Russia.

Koshkin said increased imports from countries including China, Iran and Belarus, combined with a drop in new houses being built, had curbed demand for cement. Cemros expects Russia to consume less than 60 million metric tons of cement this year, a figure last seen during the COV