Reducing the reservation of defense industry workers could disrupt weapons supplies to the front — manufacturers urged the government to reconsider the decision
Kyiv • UNN
The government plans to reduce the reservation of defense industry workers from 100% to 85%. Manufacturers warn of contract breaches and the loss of defense capabilities.
The government’s proposed reduction of reservation quotas for employees of the defense-industrial complex from 100% to 85% could lead to production lines being halted, defense contracts being disrupted, and delays in the delivery of weapons to the military. Representatives of Ukrainian arms manufacturers are warning of this. According to them, the potential mobilization effect of such restrictions may be disproportionate to the risks they pose to the country’s defense capability, UNN writes.
The government plans to limit reservation quotas
On October 13, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine considered amendments to Resolution No. 76, which regulates the procedure for reserving military-liable employees. According to media reports, during the meeting the government did not make a final decision on reducing reservation quotas for critically important enterprises.
The draft resolution proposed reducing the percentage quotas for reserving employees at enterprises in the defense-industrial complex and energy sector from 100% to 85%, and in the utilities sector from 75% to 60%. The relevant amendments are planned to be revised within five days.
The document removed the provision excluding employees who have a deferment (students, parents of many children, and others) from the calculation.
The government decided to establish a Coordination Center involving the Security Service of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the National Police, with the relevant decision to be further revised.
At the same time, business representatives pointed out that the proposed changes had not been discussed with them and that businesses had received no official explanations regarding the decisions made.
The issue of employee reservations is directly linked to ensuring the army’s combat capability
Representatives of the defense industry criticized the government initiative, noting that companies are currently tasked with increasing weapons production and improving it.
We are categorically opposed. And we do not support reducing the quota to 85%, 90%, or 95%. It is difficult for me to understand the logic behind such a decision. The state is demanding that Ukrainian manufacturers increase production more and more, rapidly improve weapons in line with changes on the battlefield, create new designs, improve quality, localize components, develop their own technologies, and reduce dependence on imports. And at the same time, it wants to reduce the number of people who are responsible for ensuring all this
According to her, the defense industry must not merely maintain existing production volumes but grow continuously. Expanding capacity, mastering new technologies, and developing weapons require additional qualified employees.
Vedrovska, who previously served as a UAV operator and crew commander, emphasized that she knows firsthand how critical the availability of sufficient weapons is for the military.
I was a UAV operator and a crew commander. And I remember well how we could sit for two or three weeks without work simply because there were no aircraft. Or the aircraft were available and we could find a target, but the artillery had no shells to strike it with - she said, emphasizing that the issue of reserving employees of the defense-industrial complex is directly linked to the combat capability of the Ukrainian army. You cannot demand results from the military without providing them with weapons and military equipment. Likewise, you cannot demand more weapons from manufacturers while taking away the people who make them
The loss of several employees can bring an entire production line to a standstill
Andriy Demchenko, Director General of the League of Defense Enterprises, notes that enterprises are already facing difficulties fulfilling state contracts because of constant air-raid alerts and forced interruptions in production processes. Some companies are forced to work on weekends in order to meet their orders.
I am very critical of the government’s proposal to reduce the reservation quota for employees of defense-industrial complex enterprises from 100% to 85%. First, government contracts are already being fulfilled with great difficulty. Due to constant air raid alerts, enterprises are practically unable to complete orders within the established deadlines. If a 15% reduction in the number of reserved employees is added to this, the situation could become catastrophic
Demchenko explained that weapons production consists of successive technological stages, each of which depends on the work of specific specialists. For example, in the production of armored vehicles, work on the armor is performed first, followed by assembly of the vehicle and installation of equipment and instruments. The loss of employees at one of these stages can block the entire subsequent process.
If the number of reserved people is reduced at the very first link in production, this will affect the entire subsequent process. As a result, the enterprise may fail to fulfill the government contract within the specified deadlines
Valentyna Vedrovska shares a similar view. According to her, reducing the number of employees does not mean a proportional reduction in production volumes, since individual technological processes depend on a small number of highly specialized professionals.
It is important to understand that weapons production does not operate according to the principle: 15% of the people were taken away, therefore production was reduced by 15%. The consequences may be much more serious. Sometimes the loss of one or two key specialists can halt an entire production line or delay the fulfillment of a contract
The mobilization effect is disproportionate to the risks to defense capability
Representatives of the defense sector note that the government initiative to reduce reservation quotas will not solve the problems with mobilization.
Those literally several thousand people who will lose their reserved status as a result of such actions will definitely not solve the problem of mobilization to the Defense Forces, but will unequivocally undermine our capacity to supply weapons and ammunition to the military. And they will unquestionably strike not only at defense capability, but also at Ukraine’s economy
According to NAUDI, Ukraine’s defense industry supplies the Defense Forces each year with weapons and military equipment worth more than $10 billion, while private manufacturers meet more than half of the army’s needs.
At the same time, according to industry representatives, defense-industrial complex employees account for no more than 10% of the total number of conscription-eligible persons with reserved status in Ukraine.
The Association believes that the possible mobilization effect of reducing reservations would be disproportionate to the risks of losing production capabilities.
Enterprises risk facing penalties due to unfulfilled contracts
Defense enterprises enter into government contracts by calculating production capacity and delivery deadlines based on the available number of employees. If, after the contract is signed, some personnel lose their reserved status and an outflow of staff occurs, the company may find itself in a situation where fulfilling its obligations to the state becomes impossible.
Changing an enterprise’s staffing capacity after a government contract has been concluded creates a risk of violating product delivery deadlines and, consequently, of sanctions being imposed under the contract. Thus, enterprises may face a double problem: on the one hand, the state expects defense orders to be fulfilled on time, while on the other, it proposes restrictions that could deprive manufacturers of the human resources necessary for this.
Valentyna Vedrovska notes that training engineers, designers, technologists and operators of specialized equipment can take months and sometimes even years.
The situation is further complicated by the already acute shortage of skilled tradespeople.
According to the director general of the League of Defense Enterprises, companies are already short of mechanics, welders, electricians and other experienced specialists. They are competing for such workers, as finding replacements for them is currently extremely difficult.
At the same time, industry representatives believe that more active involvement of women in the defense industry is necessary, but cannot instantly solve the staffing problem.
We need women not instead of men, but together with them. We must increase the number of qualified workers, not reduce it
There were no discussions of the government initiative with business
In addition, industry representatives point to the absence of clear calculations explaining the need to reduce reservation quotas by exactly 15%. According to Valentyna Vedrovska, in the materials accompanying the draft government resolution, the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers found no assessment of the possible consequences for production and the fulfillment of defense contracts.
Where are the calculations? Where is the assessment of the consequences for production and the fulfillment of defense contracts? We cannot afford experiments with the state's defense capability, especially when it is unclear what the proposed decisions are based on
According to Vedrovska, the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers learned about the initiative only after the draft resolution had been sent for interagency approval. At the same time, according to her information, the Ministry of Economy proposed approving the document within one day.
This is already the third similar government initiative in the past two years. According to Andrii Demchenko, because of the constant revision of the rules, enterprises are forced to undergo inspections again, submit documents and confirm their critical status. This is despite the fact that companies completed the relevant procedures only in July. At that time, according to the Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers, 14% of enterprises failed to confirm their critical status.
The proposed establishment of a Coordination Center, which will participate in determining the critical status of enterprises and approving reservation volumes, is also causing concern. In Demchenko's view, this could create an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, since the Ministry of Defense already interacts with defense-industrial enterprises, has information about state contracts and understands the specifics of their production.
The industry calls for preserving 100% reservation and strengthening targeted oversight
Representatives of the defense industry emphasize that they do not object to the need for inspections and combating abuses in the reservation system. However, they believe that oversight should concern specific enterprises and should not result in restrictions for the entire industry.
The Ukrainian Council of Arms Manufacturers has already sent official appeals to the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Defense, the National Security and Defense Council, the Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine, demanding that 100% reservation for defense-industrial workers be preserved.
Representatives of the League of Defense Enterprises also raised this issue during meetings with the Ministry of Defense, in particular with Deputy Minister Hanna Hvozd yar. NAUDI, for its part, called on the government to hold a meeting with the participation of relevant associations.
The manufacturers' position is to preserve the current reservation quotas, conduct targeted inspections and ensure the mandatory involvement of industry representatives in preparing decisions that affect the operation of enterprises.
In addition
Representatives of other industries that have critical status have also spoken about the negative consequences of reducing reservation quotas. In particular, businesses warn that changing the rules could affect not only the defense industry, but also the energy sector, housing and communal services, food security and the aviation industry.
Our main request is simple — there is no need to destroy what is already working. This is one of the basic principles of engineering and management. If the system allows enterprises to confirm their critical status and reserve the necessary workers, it should be improved where this is genuinely necessary, rather than creating new problems for the industry
He recalled that, as in the defense industry, the aviation sector employs highly specialized professionals—engineers and designers—who, following an outflow of personnel caused by the reduction of reservation quotas, will be practically impossible to replace.