On Monday, employees at the Beko plant in Łódź came to work wearing black T-shirts. This is a sign of protest against the plans to close the plant. 1,100 people will be laid off. The company has assured that it will work out appropriate terms of departure, but there is bitterness among the employees. “We got shot in the face,” they say.
Beko Europe announced last Thursday decision to close the plant in Łódź, where cookers, dryers and plastic components are manufactured, and the Wrocław refrigerator factory. The layoffs will cover 1.8 thousand people, of whom 1.1 thousand work in Łódź.
“Nobody expected this”
As the employees of the Łódź factory admit, the mood at the plant is terrible due to the prospect of losing their jobs. – No one expected that our plants in Łódź would be liquidated. We had no inklings. We were presented with a bright future, production has increased recently and we thought that everything would finally start at full speed. The letter from the management about the closure of the plants, which was read to us at the meetings on Thursday, was a huge shock for us. I have devoted a very large part of my life to this work, and now I don't know what will happen to me – Dorota Popławska, an employee of Beko, told PAP on Monday.
The head of NSZZ “Solidarność” in the Beko plants in Łódź and Radomsko, Sebastian Graczyk, pointed out that many employees have over 20 years of experience in the Łódź plants, which previously produced, among others, equipment under the Indesit and Whirlpool brands.
– These are single mothers with children. These are people who have been working here for twenty-something years. For some, this is their whole life that they have spent here. People are terrified, sad, and bitter. Where is a person who has spent their whole life here supposed to find work now? Where are people who have five or four years to go to work? pensions'Just a month ago we were promised three-shift work, more orders, and now we got a punch in the face. On Thursday I was riding my bike back all in tears and didn't know what to say to my children at home,' said Paulina Szrenik from the quality department.
The factory in Łódź belonging to the Beko companyPAP/Marian Zubrzycki
Black T-shirts
The first expression of protest against the planned closure of the plants are the black T-shirts that the employees came to work in on Monday. – This is an expression of our mourning protest. For now, we started with black outfits, black T-shirts, but if the conditions of departure are not favorable for us, we will go on strike – added Szrenik.
Graczyk admitted that during talks with the management of the household appliance manufacturer, the union will strive to obtain favorable severance pay conditions for employees and assistance in finding a new job.
– We are starting talks on September 23. We need to make sure that the separation is as painless as possible for the employees. Severance pay will be important, but so will help in finding a job and psychological support – he stressed.
Beko Europe Communications Director Zygmunt Łopalewski assured in an interview with PAP that the company's goal in talks with staff representatives will be to find the best solutions for employees.
– Talks with unions will focus on the terms of departure and the period in which they will take place. At the same time, we are talking to the city authorities, the Łódź Special Economic Zone and other institutions so that employees are up to date with job offers from the Łódź market and can quickly find their way in a new place. We will not leave anyone without help, including with retraining or psychological support – he assured.
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Production until the end of April
Production at the Łódź plant is to be completed by the end of April next year. The manufacturer explained the decision by the changing market, weak demand for products manufactured in Poland and the related unprofitability of production.
The current Beko production plant in Łódź at Dąbrowskiego Street initially belonged to Indesit Company, which opened its first cooker factory there in 1999. At its peak, the plant employed over 2.5 thousand people.
Main image source: PAP/Marian Zubrzycki