The wave of collective redundancies in Poland continues. shortly 17,000 people will lose their jobs

“At the end of March this year, more than a period ago, and than a year ago, the number of group redundancies – 159 establishments declared 17,000 workers, including 0.3 1000 people from the public sector,” the CSO reported.

This means an increase compared to February erstwhile 137 employers announced the dismissal of 15.9 1000 workers.

Although the unemployment rate in Poland remains comparatively low. According to Tuesday figures of the Central Statistical Office, in March 2024 it amounted to 5.3 percent, which means a decrease of 0.1 percent points compared to February.

In March 2024, according to the latest CSO data, employment in the enterprise sector was 9.8 1000 little than in February (by 0.1%) and 15.8 1000 little than in March 2023 (decrease by 0.2%).

The net profit of enterprises in the 4th fourth of 2023 decreased by 26 percent compared to the erstwhile year. The share of wages in the full costs of companies increased by 1.3 percent points (achieving 14.7 percent in the 4th fourth of 2023) and is not as advanced as the share of materials and energy (43.2 percent), the cost of which has increased importantly in fresh years.

The CSO points to worrying signals in the labour market. little and little fresh jobs are being created. "GUS indicates that 88.1 1000 fresh occupation offers were created in March, a decrease of 9.1 percent compared to the erstwhile year. The number of fresh offers in the labour offices has remained unchangeable since 1.5 years, with the exception of fluctuations related to seasonal work," the experts from the Polish economical Institute noted.

Experts stress that companies' declarations of planned group redundancies may be a signal of the upcoming slowdown in the labour market. Much will depend on the state of the economy in the coming months and on the way employers cope with rising business costs.

As we have already mentioned, most exemptions can happen in industrial processing and IT sectors. The diary Gazeta Prawna emphasizes that the IT manufacture experienced dynamic improvement during the pandemic period, erstwhile the request for distant work and discipline prompted investment in digital transformation. Now many projects started at the time are coming to an end.

The article besides points to an crucial issue concerning the labour marketplace in the IT industry, noting that the situation is more serious than suggested by the data on group redundancies. Many IT professionals are employed on the basis of B2B contracts, which means that their exemptions are not included in group redundancies statistics, although they lose their jobs.

Recently, it has besides been reported that the French Michelin company closes 1 of its production plants in Olsztyn and moves production to Romania, reports the portal Olsztyn.com.pl. This mill specializes in the manufacture of tyres for various types of vehicles and the manufacture of semi-finished products and forms. It is the largest employer in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, employing about 5,000 people.

The decision to liquidate the production plant was justified by ‘high costs’.

“This marketplace is flooded with cheaper tyres from the Far East and our plant has so decided to put out the production of trucks”, it has been informed.

Significant reductions in employment are planned, among others, at Scania, where 700 employees lose their jobs. The liquidation of Levi Strauss & Co. mill in Płock will consequence in a failure of employment for 800 people. According to media information, group redundancies in Nokia, covering 800 people, are part of a restructuring plan scheduled until 2026.

Several hundreds of employees lose their jobs in furniture factories that have been liquidated. another companies specified as Carrefour (200 people), Neonet (100 people), Pepsico Joint Services Center (200 people), Aptiv Services Poland (370 people), Octopus Energy (317 people), Ikea (130 people), MM Kwidzyn (110 people), and the liquidated Karolina Table China Plant (181 people). Exemptions are besides planned for Forte (237 people), ABB (600 people) and Volvo Buses (400 people).

Nearly 170 foundry workers in Elbląg could lose their jobs in little than a year – according to the local portal info.elblag.pl a fewer days ago.

Eurocash besides plans to reduce the number of jobs by about 6-7% in all companies of the group, which means a simplification of about 1000 jobs. It is despite the fact that Eurocash recorded profits of PLN 145 million in 2023, an increase of 62% compared to the erstwhile year.