The measures include optimising 4,000 jobs, cutting costs and increasing production

The largest producer of coking coal in the European Union — the Polish group Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) — has announced the launch of a large-scale restructuring programme. The company’s supervisory board has approved the ‘2026–2035 Recovery Programme’, designed to pull the mining giant out of the deepest financial crisis in its history, stabilise its liquidity and restore operational profitability.  This was reported by Dziennik Zachodni.

The prolonged decline of the steel industry in Europe, unfavourable market conditions and the fall in global prices for coking coal have led to a significant deterioration in JSW’s financial position. After several years of record profits, the company has depleted its accumulated reserves. In 2025, the group’s consolidated net loss reached 6.25 billion zlotys. During the first half of 2026, losses amounted to a further 1.04 billion zlotys (including 427.5 million zlotys in the second quarter), forcing the management to take decisive anti-crisis measures.

A key focus of the programme is to optimise staffing levels in line with the new production volumes. Whilst JSW employed 20,488 people at the end of 2025, the plan is to reduce the workforce to fewer than 16,000 employees as part of the restructuring.

The process is carried out exclusively through the state’s social protection scheme for miners:

1. Throughout 2026, around 4,200 staff members will make use of the support measures.

2. More than 3,000 people will be entitled to special leave for miners and leave for employees of ore-processing plants.

3. Nearly 1,200 people will retire or leave their jobs in exchange for a one-off cash payment.

4. As at the end of August 2026, more than 2,700 employees had already left the company in this way. The management has given assurances that the redundancies are being carried out without compromising the safety or continuity of mining operations. Furthermore, with the agreement of the trade unions, certain social benefits and bonuses have been temporarily restricted.

The recovery plan provides for strict resource management and the reorganisation of production processes:

1. Investment restrictions: between 2026 and 2029, average annual capital expenditure will be cut to 2 billion zlotys and will be directed exclusively towards maintaining existing capacity and occupational health and safety.

2. Liquidity management: the company has reached agreements to defer social security (ZUS) contributions, is securing advance payments from counterparties, and is also planning to sell non-core assets and property.

3. Financial support: JSW has applied for 2.9 billion zlotys in loan financing and has signed a loan agreement with the Polish Industrial Development Agency (ARP).

Despite the cut in expenditure, the programme envisages a gradual increase in coal production. Whilst the company produced around 13 million tonnes in 2025, production is set to rise to 14 million tonnes by 2029, before stabilising at 14.1 million tonnes per year.

The restructuring will also cover the subsidiary JSW Koks, where annual coke production will be capped at 3.4 million tonnes, alongside cost and asset optimisation.