Polish state-owned rail freight operator PKP Cargo must submit a restructuring plan by the end of this month. A few days before this deadline, the company will need to make a decision on group layoffs, which will likely see more than 2,400 people lose their jobs over the next year and a half.
Currently, the plan seems to entail 1,041 layoffs by the end of July 2025 and 1,388 more by 30 September 2026. However, the exact number of redundancies and their arrangements will be officialised only after 26 June, when a 20-day consultation between PKP Cargo and trade unions will be concluded. “The presented information is the most pessimistic scenario of carrying out collective redundancies”, said Izabela Skonieczna-Powałka, administrator of the restructuring estate of PKP Cargo.
Restructuring of PKP Cargo
One of the main causes behind PKP Cargo’s recent difficulties was identified in the so-called coal decision. Between July and October 2022, Polish former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki decided that PKP Cargo had to prioritise the transport of 4,5 million tonnes of coal, discarding other, more profitable contracts.
Because of this, “the company has not invested in types of rolling stock other than those for mass transport. Therefore, it was not prepared to respond flexibly to changes in the market”, underlined Agnieszka Wasilewska-Semail, President of the Management Board of PKP Cargo.
This led to significant losses in terms of both volumes and financial performance, bringing PKP Cargo on the verge of bankruptcy and forcing a massive restructuring started last spring. The new management of the company also asked the government for compensation for the losses caused by the coal decision, but the request was denied.