Group layoffs in Siarkopol. “It doesn't look good”

The spokeswoman pointed out that the current management is carrying out corrective actions and must adjust the employment level to current production needs. She pointed out that Siarkopol's loss in 2023 amounted to over PLN 80 million.

– The situation in the company in March this year. makes it necessary to adjust the employment level to the levels justified by current and planned production and implemented organizational changes – said the spokeswoman.

She added that the goal of the company's management is to return Grupa Azoty Siarkopol to profitable production, using, among others, logistics assets owned by Siarkopol. She informed that in its activities, the management board must take into account the current situation on the sulfur market and forecasts in this regard, hence, among others, a difficult decision was made to reduce employment.

According to the spokeswoman, in recent years no effective actions were taken to address market challenges, and employment was excessively increased, which increased by nearly 100 people between 2020 and 2023. – Currently, the company employs over 700 people, we assume that by the end of April 2025 the employment will be reduced by about 25 percent, she said. She explained that seniority and experience will be taken into account when reducing employment.

Darnobyt confirmed that talks are underway regarding the suspension of some provisions of the company's collective labor agreement to adapt them to the arrangements in other plants of the Azoty Group.

When asked whether the company was conducting negotiations with the Połaniec Power Plant in order to optimize the costs of thermal energy, she emphasized that the management board of Siarkopol “takes a number of actions to optimize costs, including ongoing talks with all key suppliers.”

– We are concerned about the situation – said Waldemar Bartosz, head of the Świętokrzyskie “Solidarity”, who on Tuesday participated in a meeting of the management board of Grupa Azoty Siarkopol with the company's trade union committee.

– We listened to what the president had to say and it doesn't look good – said Bartosz. He explained that the management justifies the planned group layoffs in Siarkopol by the company's difficult financial situation. The main burden is the high prices of heat supplied from the Połaniec Power Plant, which were to increase by 42% this year.

– Unfortunately, the Energy Regulatory Office set the price much higher than last year and this causes difficulties for the company. The difficult situation of the company is also the result of the uncontrolled inflow of fertilizers from… Russia and Belarus. The lack of customs duties on fertilizers imported from Russia and Belarus, which flood our market, directly affects, among others, Siarkopol, which supplies sulfur for the fertilizer industry – noted the head of the Świętokrzyskie “Solidarity”.

Trade unionists express doubts whether the management board takes sufficient action in terms of development and investment. – To my surprise, this was the first time I heard information about the intention to make collective redundancies without specifying the actual number of people who were to lose their jobs. However, during today's meeting, the number of 200 people who may be dismissed appeared. In our opinion, laying off such a large group of people is not justified given the company's ability to generate revenue, Bartosz said.

Grupa Azoty Kopalnie i Zakłady Chemiczne Siarki “Siarkopol” SA (formerly KiZCHS Siarkopol SA in Grzybów) began its operations in 1966. The company, part of the Azoty Group, is currently one of two companies in the country and in the world that conducts sulfur mining, which involves underground smelting of this raw material. About 700 people work at the plant.

Further talks between trade union committees and the management are scheduled to take place at the end of the week.