A collective layoff is taking place in Siarkopol, a subsidiary of Grupa Azoti. About a quarter of the more than 700-person workforce is expected to lose their jobs, Group Azoti spokeswoman Monika Darnobyt said.
The speaker noted that the current management is implementing corrective measures and should adjust the employment level of the population to today's production requirements. He noted that the damage of Ciarkopol in 2023 amounted to more than PLN 80 million.
Reduction of groups in Siarkopol
– The situation of the enterprise in March of the current year. It raises the need to adjust the level of employment to the level justified by the current and planned production, organizational changes have been implemented, – said the speaker.
He added that the goal of the company's management is to return Grupa Azoti Siarkopol to profitable production using others. logistics assets of Siarkopol. He informed that in its activity the Board should take into account the current situation of the sulfur market and forecasts in this regard, therefore, a difficult decision was made to reduce the work.
According to the speaker, effective measures have not been taken to solve market problems in recent years, and the population's employment has increased too much, and this figure has increased to nearly 100 people in 2020-2023. – At present, more than 700 people work in the enterprise, we estimate that according to Vai, the employment will decrease by about 25 percent by the end of April 2025. He explained that seniority and experience are taken into account when job cuts are made.
Darnobyt confirmed that negotiations are ongoing to suspend some provisions of the company's collective labor agreement to align them with other Azoty group companies.
When asked if the company is negotiating with the Polaniets power plant to optimize thermal energy costs, he emphasized that the Siarkopol board “takes a number of measures to optimize costs, including negotiations with all major suppliers.”
In Siarkopol, Piotr Polak/PAP, group cuts are to be made
“It's not good”
“We are worried about the situation,” said Valdemar Bartos, the head of the “Swichtokrzyskie” company, who participated in the meeting of the board of “Group Azoti Siarkopol” with the trade union committee of the company on Tuesday.
– We listened to the words of the president and it is not good – said Bartosh. He explained that the administration justified the group layoffs in Siarkopol with the difficult financial situation of the company. The main burden is the high price of heat supplied from the Polyanets power station, which should increase by 42 percent this year.
-Unfortunately, the Energy Regulatory Office has set the price much higher than last year, and this is causing problems for the company. The difficult situation of the company is also the result of uncontrolled import of mineral fertilizers from Russia and Belarus. The lack of customs duties on fertilizers imported from Russia and Belarus, which flooded our market, including Siarkopol, which supplies sulfur for the fertilizer industry, has a direct impact, the head of the Solidarnost company in Shwietokrzyskie noted.
Employees of the trade unions express doubt whether the board will take necessary measures in terms of development and funding or not. – It is surprising that this is the first time I have heard information about the intention of collective layoffs without indicating the actual number of people who will lose their jobs. However, at today's meeting, it was revealed that 200 people may be dismissed. In our opinion, it is not right to fire such a large group of people, taking into account the company's ability to generate income, said Bartosz.
Grupa Azoty Kopalnie i Zakłady Chemiczne Siarki “Siarkopol” SA (formerly KiZCHS Siarkopol SA in Grzybów) started its activity in 1966. This company, which is part of Azoty Group, is currently one of the two companies in the country and in the world that performs sulfur mining, which involves melting this raw material underground. About 700 people work in the plant.
At the end of the week, further negotiations of trade union committees and leaders are planned.
Main photo credit: Piotr Polak/PAP
