Polish state-owned rail freight operator PKP Cargo is currently undergoing massive restructuring to become once again financially viable. Initially, the company announced that 4,142 employees would lose their jobs, but the number was reduced to 3,665.
“Of this group, 2,515 people had their employment contracts terminated, while 1,150 employees left the company for other reasons”, PKP Cargo stated. It needs to be mentioned that the company recently said that it does not have the necessary funds to pay severance to the laid-off employees. The contract of the 2,515 employees who were let go was terminated as of 31 October 2024. The company’s goal was to maintain at least 10,000 workers. With this number of layoffs, the goal has been reached as 10,046 people remain employed by PKP Cargo.
Some of the now jobless employees should be transferred to other railway companies with which PKP Cargo signed letters of intent. Some of them were signed with other PKP subsidiaries as well as large private companies including locomotive manufacturer Stadler. This initiative can reportedly cover 2,500 people. “We hope that a large part of our former employees will take advantage of these unique opportunities”, said Martyna Gileta, Director of the Human Resources Management Office at PKP Cargo.
The restructuring of PKP Cargo
The restructuring proceedings for PKP Cargo officially started at the beginning of July and should last a couple of years. The new management overviewing the restructuring claimed that one of the main causes for the company’s downfall was the so-called ‘ƒ© decision’ made in 2022. This was an initiative that led PKP Cargo to prioritise transport of coal, which caused many other, profitable contracts to be dropped. The new management even tried to get some compensation for this decision. However, the Polish government denied the request.
