Forced leave for CFM employees. They will return to work at the beginning of February
The forced leave at the state enterprise Calea Ferată din Moldova (CFM) was extended. The measure affects more than a thousand employees who, after staying home for two weeks, were told they would return to work only at the beginning of next month. During this period, they receive half of their salary.
The CFM director told Moldova 1 that he had to place employees on forced leave because freight transport suffers periodic disruptions due to damage to Ukraine’s railway infrastructure following Russian bombardments. As a result, the company’s deficit continues to grow.
“This concerns more than 1,000 employees from the administrative department. We took this exceptional measure to avoid wage arrears and save energy resources. Traditionally, in January and February, freight transport declines and passenger numbers drop,” CFM director Serghei Cotelnic said.
In December, employees of the state enterprise Calea Ferată din Moldova were also placed on forced leave, initially announced for the period from December 22 to January 12.
According to the CFM director, these employees were to receive only 55 percent of their salary.
At present, CFM has accumulated wage arrears of 50 million lei for November and December 2025.
The financial problems of Calea Ferată din Moldova began in 2009, when freight transport fell by more than half.
The decline continued in 2016, and in 2022 the situation worsened further, when rail transit from Ukraine dropped sharply after the reopening of the port of Odesa.
These changes reduced CFM revenues and led to growing delays in salary payments. Employees began to face wage arrears lasting several months.
To ease the financial burden and partially cover unpaid wages, CFM also auctioned off old railcars and spare parts last year.
