You're reading: 400 Ukrainian presidential office staff could be laid off by November

Major reshuffles and layoffs are expected in the Ukrainian presidential office by Nov. 1, and an electronic paperwork system should be launched starting 2015, Ukrainian deputy presidential chief of staff Dmytro Shymkiv said.

“This should be an absolutely new presidential office starting Nov. 1,” Shymkiv said at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

While the previous roster of the Ukrainian presidential office included 539 jobs, it has been cut to 423 already now, Shymkiv said. “Fifty-six people have been discharged. The discharging of a large number of employees is also planned,” he said.

All employees had been warned about possible layoffs beforehand, Shymkiv said. “About 400 people are facing discharges now,” he said.

Twenty-two presidential advisory bodies will be liquidated as well, he said.

All division chiefs at the presidential office, including chief of staff Borys Lozhkin, are currently being interviewed, Shymkiv said. Potential employees, in particular, are required to have a knowledge of English, he said.

The introduction of electronic administrative systems at the presidential office should be completed by the end of 2014, he said.