JSW is preparing mass departures. The management board suggests the need for further savings
JSW is working on further cost optimization. It estimates cost savings resulting from the protective instruments of the Act on the Operation of Mining at PLN 450-460 million, said management representatives.
— We will have to optimize the cost element even more. These are cost initiatives related to the use of the Act on the Operation of Mining and the opportunities related to this Act, but not only – said Bogusław Oleksy, acting president of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, at Tuesday's conference.
JSW was covered by the Act on the Operation of Hard Coal Mining. The Act contains employment reduction mechanisms by enabling employees to use protective instruments in the form of mining leaves, leaves for employees of mechanical coal processing plants or one-off cash severance pay.
According to Oleksy, the process of voluntary departures and mining leave at JSW is to begin in May. — We are currently preparing documents for both severance pay and leave. We assume that this year we will achieve an effect of approximately PLN 450-460 million. Therefore, it is important that this process is carried out efficiently, without unnecessary delay, because each month is potentially money that we can save – said the acting president.
— We assume that this process will start in May and its effects will appear in May. However, the full effects, due to the process being divided into two stages, will appear successively as these stages are implemented, Oleksy added.
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Total assumed number of employee departures under protective instruments (mining holidays, leaves for employees of the coal mechanical processing plant and one-off severance pay) was estimated at 4,248 people.
Oleksy announced that the company has also launched other optimization initiatives. — They are related to reducing the costs of external services and optimizing the operation of mines. We have not exhausted the list of these initiatives. We are constantly looking for all possible savings to be able to meet the market, he said.
JSW's huge losses. What about mining?
On Tuesday morning, JSW announced that in the first quarter of 2026, it had a consolidated net loss of PLN 615.9 million and an EBITDA loss of PLN 238.6 million. A year ago, the company had a net loss of PLN 1.36 billion and an EBITDA loss of PLN 1.23 billion. The results are consistent with previous estimates. The EBITDA loss excluding one-off events amounted to PLN 192.4 million compared to the loss of PLN 551.8 million a year earlier.
At the end of 2025, JSW's cash balance was nearly PLN 800 million, and at the end of March this year it dropped to approximately PLN 230 million. Since JSW started losing money in the third quarter of 2023, the accumulated loss has already exceeded PLN 15.2 billion.
When asked whether the company maintains medium-term production plans, Adam Rozmus, vice-president of JSW, repeated that work is underway to update strategic goals.
He maintained that this year the planned level of coal production is 13.3 million tons. This is the plan from April this year. Previously, the company estimated the production target for 2026 at approximately 13.5 million tonnes.
What about JSW Koks?
The JSW Group is working on various scenarios for JSW Koks and is not considering selling this company. The Management Board determined that the results of this segment are not satisfactory and – what's worse – due to the market situation, they do not result in a fundamental change in the revenue side of this segment.
— These scenarios serve to optimize the costs of this entity and we look at them from a long-term perspective, but especially in the context of what is happening on the market. This is a very volatile element of our business, difficult to predict and highly volatile. Therefore, we must carefully define what this segment should implement, especially in the context of technological changes on the steel market. It remains crucial for us to maintain a certain operational stability and maximize value for the entire group, Oleksy added.
