JSW expects workforce to shrink by 4,248 by the end of 2026 — Notes from Poland

Polish state-owned coal mining company Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) expects its workforce to decrease by 4,248 people by the end of 2026. The company’s staff is expected to fall to fewer than 16,000 employees from 20,135 at the end of March, Notes from Poland reports.

The expected reduction amounts to around 21% of the company’s workforce. JSW CEO Bogusław Olexy said that approximately 2,200 people are expected to leave the company in the third quarter and another roughly 1,400 in the fourth quarter, in addition to those who have already left.

Recovery plan

The workforce reduction is part of JSW’s recovery plan for 2026–2035. It also envisages cutting costs and investment, maintaining stable output, and increasing the share of coking coal in production.

According to Olexy, the company will optimize operations to use employees and equipment more efficiently. He noted that the changes mainly concern administrative positions rather than personnel directly involved in mining.

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Last year, Poland adopted a law simplifying mine closures and workforce reductions at coal companies, providing for large severance payments and other support measures. According to Strefa Inwestorów, more than 3,000 JSW employees may take mining or processing leave, while slightly fewer than 1,200 may receive one-off compensation payments.

In February, JSW reached an agreement with trade unions to reduce labor costs in order to stabilize its financial situation. As TVN reported, the company’s employees almost unanimously supported the deal.

Financial performance

In the first half of 2026, JSW posted a net loss of slightly more than 1 billion zlotys, approximately half the 2.1 billion zlotys recorded in the same period of the previous year. For full-year 2025, the company’s loss amounted to 6.3 billion zlotys, while in 2024 it reached a record 7.3 billion zlotys.

At the same time, the cost of mining one tonne of coal in the first half of 2026 fell to 609 zlotys from 778 zlotys a year earlier. JSW’s long-term goal is to reduce this figure to around 560 zlotys per tonne.