Blachotrapez, the largest employer in Poland’s Podhale region, has begun group layoffs, according to wyborcza.biz. The company’s management says the decision is meant to save the firm from losing financial liquidity. However, this is far from the only issue: orders are dropping, costs are rising, and the family of the company’s late founder has failed to reach an agreement over ownership.
The District Labor Office in Nowy Targ has received an official notice about the group layoffs at Blachotrapez. The company, which employs around 1,000 people, plans to dismiss 70 of them. That’s the official figure — but employees warn that as many as 20% of all staff could lose their jobs.
The owner, Renata Luberda, daughter of the founder, said the decision was necessary, though difficult. “We are standing at an important turning point in our company’s history,” she added. In a letter to the Labor Office, she admitted that orders are falling, costs are rising, and sales remain limited. The company is also struggling with a lack of access to steel from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
Various Causes of the Problems
The company’s financial reports are publicly available: in 2023, Blachotrapez recorded a loss of 10 million złotys, and in 2024 another 13 million złotys, while its competitor Pruszyński posted a profit of 6 million złotys. According to Luberda, the losses are compounded by a slowdown in the construction industry and the company’s location in Podhale. Many Poles, she said, are hesitant to invest or build near the Ukrainian border.
However, journalists also spoke with employees who, while acknowledging these issues, pointed to other factors — such as costly advertising campaigns featuring footballer Kamil Glik and ski jumpers Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch. They also cited the draining of funds for the construction of a new plant in Myślenice, despite clear signs of a market slowdown.
To make matters worse, a family dispute has erupted between the founder’s daughters. One currently runs Blachotrapez, while the other owns a separate company, BP2, and accuses her sister of illegally taking over assets worth around 150 million złotys.
Layoffs Beyond Podhale
All this coincides with a crisis in the steel industry, which, as wyborcza.biz notes, has reported its worst results since World War II. One of the reasons is the limited production at Huta Częstochowa.
Altogether, these developments paint a bleak picture for the future — especially for the employees of Podhale’s largest employer. The situation fits into a nationwide wave of mass layoffs that has recently swept across Poland.