About 600,000 people in Russia who worked for companies from “unfriendly” nations are at risk of losing their jobs after those firms suspended operations, according to a top official of the ruling party, one of the direst forecasts yet of the economic impact of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin’s war spurred an exodus of international companies from the Russian market, with brands ranging from McDonald’s Corp. to Adidas AG and BMW AG suspending operations in Russia. So far, most have committed to keep paying furloughed workers for at least a few months.

Tass quoted Andrey Turchak, secretary of the United Russia party, as saying about 2 million people worked at companies from “unfriendly” nations before the war. He called for doing everything possible to protect jobs of those at risk of losing them.

The unemployment rate in March was at a record-low of 4.1%, unchanged from the previous month. That is about 3.1 million people, though the figure doesn’t include those who’ve been furloughed.

Unemployment could rise over 7% by mid-2022 for the first time in over a decade, Renaissance Capital economist Sofya Donets said in a report this week. Over 750 foreign companies have announced they are voluntarily curtailing operations in Russia to some degree, according to the Yale School of Management.

Real disposable incomes fell an annual 1.2% in the first quarter, the Federal Statistics Service reported Wednesday. The Economy Ministry warned this week that Russia’s gross domestic product could contract as much as 12.4% in 2022, according to Vedomosti. 

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