At the Częstochowa plant of the German corporation ZF, 3,193 people are employed — but that will soon change. The company has announced group layoffs: 225 employees will lose their jobs in the first half of 2026. “The automotive industry in the European market is in bad shape. Orders are falling, customers are choosing cheaper Chinese brands that are conquering the European market. Until Europe wakes up from the Green Deal, ETS fees, and all the restrictions, the situation will keep getting worse. I see it very darkly,” Stanisław Kołodziejczyk, chairman of the workplace commission of Solidarity at the Częstochowa facility, told Niezależna.pl.
ZF Group operates in seven locations in Poland: Bielsko-Biała, Czechowice-Dziedzice, Częstochowa, Gliwice, Łódź, Warsaw, and Wrocław, employing more than 11,000 people. These include production plants, engineering and service centers, and divisions providing products for driveline, steering, and chassis systems.
Regarding the group layoffs, severance packages, and related matters at the Safety Belts and Airbags Production Plant (ZF Lifetec) in Częstochowa, Marta Surowiec, communications director for Eastern Europe at ZF, referred media to the company’s official statement.
“We Are Conducting a Close Dialogue with Employees”
“The situation in the automotive industry and the overall economic climate has further deteriorated,” ZF Lifetec said in its statement. “We must deal with increasingly large production overcapacity and geopolitical tensions, including excessive tariffs, which have a significant impact on global markets. Structural changes are necessary to increase our competitiveness, ensure profitability, and protect future jobs. In Częstochowa we are engaging in close, cooperative dialogue with employee representatives about ongoing actions, striving to develop the most responsible solutions possible. One of these actions is the decision to reduce staff and carry out group layoffs.”
In the first half of 2026, 225 employees in Częstochowa will lose their jobs — 7 percent of the workforce. At the end of September this year, the total number of employees at ZF Lifetec’s Safety Belts and Airbags Production Plant was 3,193.
For Now: A Voluntary Departure Program
Stanisław Kołodziejczyk, chairman of the NSZZ Solidarity workplace commission at the Safety Belts and Airbags Production Plant in Częstochowa — ZF Lifetec:
“The employer has announced group layoffs starting on January 1, 2026 — they will be carried out over six months. What comes next? I don’t know. For now, applications for the voluntary departure program are being accepted until the end of December this year. This allows for termination by mutual agreement due to reasons attributable to the employer. Interest is high. The employer is to make decisions on submitted applications by January 6.”
“It’s Bad…”
“It’s bad in the automotive industry on the European market!” Kołodziejczyk says bluntly. “Orders are falling, customers are choosing cheaper Chinese brands that are overtaking the European market. Until Europe — and Poland — wake up from the Green Deal, ETS fees, and restrictions, the situation will only deteriorate. I see it very darkly. Italian, French, and German corporations have shot themselves in the foot, and it’s the workers who suffer. Employment is being reduced, costs are being slashed. No one is working on rebuilding the automotive market in Europe! I have worked in the automotive industry for nearly 30 years — I’ve never seen a situation like this. EU bureaucrats are dismantling Europe’s economy: all energy-intensive industries, mining, steelmaking, automotive. No one is doing anything about it. At our plant alone, as many as 500 jobs may disappear within two years. Employment is shrinking because automation is advancing to make production cheaper.”
The Numbers Are Alarming!
Data from the Polish economy are alarming. Employment in the enterprise sector alone, according to GUS figures published each October, has already fallen by almost 90,000 people between 2023 and 2025. By comparison, from 2016 to 2023 employment had risen — by more than 700,000 people.
“In the most industrialized region in Poland — the Silesian Voivodeship — there has been an enormous increase in group layoffs. Between January and October 2025, 270 percent more people were laid off compared to 2023,” wrote Jarosław Wieczorek, former Silesian Voivode and now a Law and Justice MP, on X.