Russian firms to lay off 200,000 workers: official

MOSCOW: Russian employers will lay off around 200,000 workers in the coming months amid the global economic slowdown, a senior Russian official was quoted as saying Wednesday by the Interfax news agency.

"Most of the layoffs will come in December and January. Employers plan to cut around 200,000 people," Alexander Vovchenko, deputy head of Russia's Federal Service for Labour and Employment, was quoted as saying.

The estimate was based on data provided by 4,000 employers to the service, which monitors employment figures, Vovchenko said.

Russia has been hit increasingly hard by the global economic crisis despite initial claims by officials that the country would be insulated from the worst of the financial turmoil.

Moscow stock markets have lost more than two-thirds of their value since May and the crisis threatens to slash Russia's economic growth, most notably because of a plunge in the price of oil, the country's main export.