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Arctic Yearbook 2014
“...the desire to establish good reputation on the domestic and international business
arenas, the wish to support the town which is home for the company’s employees, the
whish to demonstrate good image of the company to the authorities at all levels and to the
local community, and the long-lasting since the Soviet times tradition of the company’s
social responsibility”.
Additionally, the company is motivated by requests from different levels of governmental or political
bodies and by the international requirements for corporate codes of conduct.
The company has been doing a lot for the towns’ improvement, repairing roads and reconstructing
social infrastructure – for example, it financed full reconstruction of the lakeside promenade and of the
swimming pull in Kirovsk in 2008-2012 and granted 20 million RUB for the renovation of the
department of intensive therapy at the city hospital in Apatity in 2013. It also used to buy equipment
for the hospitals in Kirovsk and Apatity and regularly organized the contests of socially important
projects “Problems of our town we resolve together” and funded the realization of these projects. Due
to its long-time role of main-employer enterprise in Kirovsk and regular social activities in several local
communities, “Apatit” used to enjoy strong trust among the inhabitants of these communities, and in
Kirovsk even a psychological identification with the company for a major proportion of the
community. For instance, a deputy of Kirovsk municipal Council stated:
“In the meetings with people in Kirovsk, especially with the older generation, I’ve
many times heard that they considered their lives and destinies inseparably linked
with “Apatit” company”.
In accordance with the SLO concept, such attitudes pointed to the high level of social license that for
decades had been given to the company. However, lately the level of social license for “Apatit”
company has decreased. Since April 2013 “Apatit” company, due to the decision of its main owner
(based in Moscow managing company “Phosagro AG”), started a deep-restructuring program aimed at
the reduction of operational costs and growth of labor productivity. The restructuring anticipates the
dismissal of 2420 employees and the phasing out of the company’s internal servicing subdivisions
towards outsourced companies (Information, 2014). As a result, the total number of the company’s
employees dropped from 11,600 to 7600. people by the beginning of 2014. This has led to the decision
of the special governmental commission of the RF to include Kirovsk in the list of single-industry
towns with the most difficult socio-economic situation (List, 2013). In addition, during the last
decade the company has been transferring all of its social objects (sport complex, palace of
culture etc.) to the Kirovsk municipality. As a result, the burden for the municipal budget
notably increased.
It is worth mentioning that over the last decade, first, decision-making processes in regard to the
company’s activities, including its social policies, have concentrated outside of H