The supervisory judge today approved the restructuring plan of PKP Cargo — Poland’s largest rail freight operator. Over the past two years, the company has lost more than 4,100 employees and is burdened with nearly PLN 3 billion in debt. The Creditors’ Council believes the plan requires revisions.
PKP Cargo — a company that only a few years ago seemed to be a pillar of Poland’s logistics infrastructure — is now facing a deep crisis. On Wednesday, March 18, the supervisory judge approved the company’s restructuring plan, but the road to recovery remains long and uncertain.
In the summer of 2024, the court opened restructuring proceedings for the company. Almost immediately, the management board announced mass layoffs — as a result, employment dropped by 3,665 workers. In 2025, a further 450 employees were dismissed.
Creditors Raise Concerns
Although the supervisory judge approved the restructuring plan submitted by the administrator in June 2025, the company’s Creditors’ Council remains skeptical. In its resolution, it upheld the position that the plan requires changes and further detail. According to the Council, the adopted assumptions carry a significant risk of failing to meet the projected results during the implementation of the arrangement.
Creditors are also demanding that any funds obtained from compensation related to the so-called “coal decision,” as well as from asset sales — including used railcars — should primarily be used to repay their claims. Importantly, the plan may still be modified even after being approved by the judge. The Creditors’ Council has declared its willingness to continue the proceedings and begin discussions on the final terms of the arrangement proposals.
Nearly PLN 3 Billion in Debt
The scale of PKP Cargo’s financial problems is enormous. The company is burdened with nearly PLN 3 billion in debt. The restructuring plan assumes that, if the planned measures are successfully implemented, it will be possible to achieve EBITDA of approximately PLN 1.3 billion — but only by 2031.
Meanwhile, in the third quarter of 2025, the company generated just PLN 7.5 million in profit, with revenues disproportionate to the scale of its operations. Capital expenditures in the first nine months of 2025 amounted to PLN 304 million — nearly 43 percent less than a year earlier.