Tsifra Robotics (OOO Vist Mining Technology) has reduced its staff. The reason was the owner's unwillingness to continue financing the project, CNews reports.
In the first ten days of April 2026, the team was informed about the upcoming optimization at a general meeting. Layoffs affected about 50 people — almost the entire development staff. According to sources, the reduction took place on June 8, 2026, and all employees received their due payments. Part of the team has already moved to new projects — Roblex and RT-Gornaya Robotizatsiya, created in April and June 2026.
Tsifra Robotics was one of the first companies in Russia to engage in the robotization of mining equipment. In 2011, it, together with BelAZ, presented a dump truck with a remote control system. Since 2022, the developer has completely come under the control of the Tsifra group. However, financial performance deteriorated: in 2020, revenue was 229 million rubles, and in 2023 — already 8.5 million, with a net loss of 108 million.
Former employees attribute the company's problems to a lack of large orders. According to them, the management explained the reduction by saying that "the market is not mature and not ready for the technology." Unlike China, where the state encourages staff reductions in quarries, there is no mass demand for unmanned dump trucks in Russia yet.
Among the company's latest projects was a foreign robotic complex based on three autonomous dump trucks, but sales were difficult. Experts note that the Tsifra Robotics team was ahead of its time: technologically, the solutions were correct, but the market was not ready. Now this niche will probably be occupied by Chinese manufacturers.