PKP Cargo, Poland’s largest and the EU’s second-largest rail freight operator, has announced plans to lay off 30 percent of its workforce.
This drastic measure will affect 4,142 employees, according to a company press release.
The layoffs come at a time when the firm, vital to Poland’s transportation infrastructure and described as a transport giant of strategic importance, is facing severe operational challenges.
Krzysztof Bosak, deputy speaker of the Sejm and one of the Confederation party leaders, emphasized the dire implications of the layoffs, not only for the affected employees but for the entire nation.
“The news is very alarming – not only for the more than 4,000 dismissed employees of PKP Cargo but for all of Poland. PKP Cargo is a transportation giant of strategic importance for the country,” Bosak commented. He further explained that recent managerial changes and strategic decisions could prevent the company from fulfilling its roles and participating in tenders, and could lead to its eventual liquidation.
This, he noted, would result in the sale of assets worth hundreds of millions, perhaps billions and potentially cede control of the Polish rail transport market to German and Ukrainian entities, which have recently received licenses to operate in Poland.
Bosak highlighted that PKP Cargo employs over 10,000 people, generates annual revenues of 4 billion złotys (approximately €930 million), and possesses extensive bases and repair facilities.
“Destroying such potential is a hit to Poland’s geostrategic position, weakens the civil resilience of the Polish state (an obligation under Article 3 of the NATO treaty), and diminishes the national defense capability, as someone must transport weaponry to where it’s needed, regardless of the crisis or war location. Expecting foreign firms to handle this is, to put it mildly, naive,” Bosak stressed.
Earlier this year, PKP Cargo reported that the company had lost a significant portion of the market in recent years, resulting in a lack of work for a large group of employees.
