Polish rail freight operator PKP Cargo is being massively restructured after years of financial struggle and mismanagement. The restructuring plan was supposed to be ready by today, 28 February 2025, but the company has now asked for an extension until the end of June.
The application was filed at the very last minute, on Thursday 27 February. “It was submitted to the judge commissioner of the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw, the requested extension date is June 30, 2025”, PKP Cargo said. The company was contacted for further information regarding the judge’s response but no answer has been provided as of yet.
According to the company’s Administrator and Management Board, the plan is moving along well, but “it is not possible to prepare a document containing all the elements required (…) by 28 February 2025.” The President of PKP Cargo Agnieszka Wasilewska-Semail highlighted that the restructuring needs very detailed business and financial analyses to create long-term stability.
PKP Cargo’s restructuring
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.
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 of the losses caused by the coal decision, but the answer was negative.
The restructuring will also have a significant impact on PKP Cargo’s workforce, with the cutting of over 3,600 jobs, about one-third of the total. Many of them will be transferred to other companies in the PKP Group or active in the rail industry in Poland. The layoffs ended up being fewer than initially planned, also because schemes where employees covered more than one position were discovered.