Russia's industrial titans furlough workers as its war economy stalls

The efforts to reduce labour costs show the strain on Russia's economy as President Vladimir Putin and the US-led NATO military alliance square off in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Reuters identified six companies in Russia's mining and transport sectors, many of them industrial titans, that have 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 4-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 spokesman Sergei Koshkin. "The goal is to keep all our...