MASS LAYOFFS AT H.CEGIELSKI
Wirtualna Polska
Warsaw Business Journal
05.10.2009 | 18:12
Last week saw the first stage of mass redundancies at
H.Cegielski-PoznaÅ~D, a company which is famous for manufacturing
trams, engines, generators and compressors. A total of 497 people
will be fired over the course of a month, with workers employed in
ship engine production the first to go.
The two largest of the state-owned firm’s five labor unions agreed
to the lay-offs. "It was put into effect because it was accepted by
most representative unions," the company’s CEO, JarosÅ~Baw Lazurko,
told Radio Merkury. However, some union leaders have threatened that
those allowed to keep their jobs could go on strike in order to get
better protection from future lay-offs.
H.Cegielski-PoznaÅ~D has debts which could amount to zÅ~B.50 million by
the end of the year. The redundancies will cost the firm about zÅ~B.11
million, but should bring zÅ~B.25 million in savings as quickly as
next year according to its management, which has described the firm
as overstaffed.
H.Cegielski Diesel Engines and Generating Sets Factory, a subsidiary of
the capital group, has been hit hard by the crisis in the shipbuilding
industry. Some of of the laid off workers may find employment in
H.Cegielski Rolling Stock Factory, which manufacturing trams and
rail cars, but only if the company manages to ink contracts with PKP
Intercity, Solaris and the government of Armenia.
Mr Lazurko announced that restructuring plans for the capital group
will include privatization of the rolling stock factory, consolidation
of other subsidiaries and diversification into new business areas.