2026-02-27 11:45
publication
2026-02-27 11:45
Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) is in terrible financial condition. After three quarters of 2025, the net loss amounted to PLN 2.9 billion. While the management board is looking for savings of PLN 1.2 billion, the trade union structures in the company are doing well: at the end of the year, there were 82 organizations operating there, and the unionization rate exceeded 182%.
The biggest challenge for JSW's profitability remains rising labor costs, which increased from PLN 3.7 billion to PLN 5.8 billion in 2019-2024. The Ministry of State Assets (MAP) draws attention to the “fatal” agreement of 2021, which extended employment guarantees by 10 years. As a result: “regardless of the level of production, labor costs remain unchanged, which limits the company's ability to reduce its fixed costs.” The situation is made worse by high salaries – the average salary in 2025 was approximately PLN 14,500. PLN gross.
Not only the number of unions is controversial, but also the number of full-time activists – 112 people are fully delegated to trade union work. Piotr Ostrowski, head of OPZZ, blames the lack of assertiveness of the previous management boards for this state of affairs. He notes that: “if the employer agrees, however, under internal documents (…) he may establish rules that are more favorable to unions than those resulting from the Act.”
Reports of attempts by trade unionists to influence tender processes (the tender case for PLN 27 million) cast an additional shadow on the company's image. In January, “Gazeta Wyborcza” described the court testimony of the former vice-president of JSW, according to which, in the case of a tender worth PLN 27 million, the head of “S” in the company, Sławomir Kozłowski, wanted an external company to win it. “The president of our daughter company heard that the head of Solidarity is in charge at JSW and it should be as he wants. He was told to withdraw from the tender for works worth PLN 27 million – Tomasz Śledź, former vice-president of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, admitted in court,” “GW” reported.
MAP assesses the situation as “extremely difficult” and enumerates external factors: low coking coal prices (decrease from PLN 1,510 in 2022 to PLN 693 in 2025) and exhaustion of funds from the Closed-End Investment Fund (FIZ). Implementing drastic savings and cost discipline will be crucial for survival. The Ministry emphasizes that “however, it is necessary to take savings measures, maintain cost discipline and sell unnecessary parts of assets and obtain part of the financing on market principles.”
Balczun: JSW is in a dramatic situation, Grupa Azoty requires profound changes
The situation at Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa is “dramatically difficult” and restoring its profitability may take at least three years, said Wojciech Balczun, Minister of State Assets. At the same time, the head of MAP announced that at least 10 niche companies would be transferred to the Industrial Development Agency, and Grupa Azoty would require deep restructuring.
Prepared by JM
