Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa launches employee severance program and seeks state aid

Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) reported that 526 workers received one‑time cash severance in the first round of its protection programme, which targets 1,156 eligible employees out of a planned 4,248 participants. The payouts were split between 199 underground staff and 327 surface, administration and technical personnel. The programme, part of a broader support package that also includes mining and processing‑plant leave schemes, is financed by the state budget at an estimated cost of about 500 million zł and is expected to generate financial benefits of roughly 1.2 billion zł in 2026‑27.

In June JSW concluded a second agreement with the Ministry of Energy to fund the protection packages and employee departures. The company, which employs around 21,000 people, aims to reduce labour costs by moving workers onto the leave schemes. To improve its financial position, JSW is negotiating the sale of assets worth over 1 billion zł and is in talks with the Agency for State Assets (ARP) about a loan. The firm posted a Q1 net loss of 615.9 million zł and negative EBITDA of 192.4 million zł, underscoring the urgency of the restructuring measures.