Ex-acting head says some 50 employees dismissed from ENA

David Ghazinyan, former acting director of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), claims that around 45-50 employees have been dismissed from the company since Romanos Petrosyan’s appointment as its manager.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Ghazinyan stated that some staff members submitted resignations under pressure. While the figure may seem small compared to ENA’s 6,800 employees, he stressed that most of those dismissed were holding senior positions.

“They are effectively decapitating ENA, replacing professionals with party members and defeated political candidates,” Ghazinyan argued, calling the dismissals politically motivated.

He also dismissed ENA nationalization claims. “This is not nationalization. The government is purchasing ENA from the current owner, Samvel Karapetyan, with compensation at market value plus 15 percent. That’s a buyout, not state takeover.”

Ghazinyan said the Armenian leadership’s rhetoric on nationalization was merely “political discourse aimed at feeding their voters”, warning that genuine nationalization laws would deter investment.