The plant will close and 435 people will lose their jobs.

– This is a shock to us. So far, no one has talked about closing the plant, restructuring the plant or laying off 50 to 100 employees. But what about the crew? Mainly smaller companies operate here, and suddenly 435 people flooded into the labor market and submitted resumes. After all, not everyone can find a job – Elżbieta Derda, who has been working in the steel industry since 1987, said recently. Her husband started working a year ago. They both worked at the “Andrzej” rolling mill in Zawadzkie in the Opole province for about 10 years. Like hundreds of others, they will become victims of the liquidation of the factory that supports one of the poorest communes in the country.

Alchemia, which manages the mill, announced that the closure will last until the end of September. Orders already placed will be fulfilled. The Zawadzkie commune, home to about 11,000 people, was considered the poorest region in the country in 2019, according to the Central Statistics Office.

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– A few years ago, the mill employed 4-5 thousand people. People, always associated with the commune. In 1836, the “Andrzej” steel mill was founded here. Unfortunately, this plant slowly died year after year. The revenue of the Zawadzki commune was never a leader, so this was a big problem. But when I ran for election, I knew where we were, although I did not think that the rolling mill would collapse. No one thought so. I want to get the commune out of its troubles, I am sure it will only get better, but it won’t change overnight – Mayor Michał Rytel announced in an interview with Money.pl.

Ritter, 42, became mayor in the local elections in April. He won in the first round with a margin of nearly 59%. Vote. – It was a baptism of fire for me. Rumors of layoffs and restructuring at the plant had been circulating for two or three years, but no one had thought of liquidation. The company’s decision came as a bolt from the blue. The mayor said everything happened in one day: the employees received a notice, I received a notice, and a stock exchange announcement was issued.

The steel mill brings 2-300 thousand zlotys to the commune every month. Tax revenue is about 3 million zlotys per year. The commune does not have any large tax-paying enterprises.

The owner kept his promise and he has received tax funds Until a customer is found to purchase the land for the plant. Time will tell if this will be the case, but there is no basis for assuming a different scenario. Local government officials explained that the lack of this money will affect our budget.

As written in the stock exchange announcementThe board of directors of Alchemia SA decided to liquidate the plant “due to obsolete production technology, high costs of maintaining the branch’s production activities and the expected continuous increase of these costs. The reasons also include technically and economically unjustified increases in expenditures for the reconstruction and modernization of production technology, as well as the expected higher economic benefits from the liquidation of assets”. The company reported sales revenues of PLN 183 million in 2023 and PLN 281 million in 2022.

– In this whole situation, people are the most important. I have spoken to the director of the district labor office and the starosta. “If they are willing, I will write to the government and the relevant ministries to ask for support and additional funds for continuing education programs or to release funds to help them open a company,” said Mayor Ritter.

The mayor of the Zawadzki commune, located near the border with the Silesian province, spoke to local government officials to ask where the job vacancies were.

There are 130 jobs in our district and in neighboring Olesno. That’s some starting points. But we’re going to keep asking, we need to give people information about where they can find jobs. I work from morning till night, and I take this whole thing personally. Two of our MPs work in the steel mills. I will not rest until the situation improves. – declared Michał Rytel.

He added that the mill region is an ideal place for investment in the arms industry. – I will raise this idea, maybe the state treasury will help? – The mayor of Zawadzki wondered.

Ritter is most concerned about the domino effect, such as rent issues for municipal sites occupied by steel mill employees.

– These are human tragedies that could cause their debts to increase. Residents will spend less in stores, which will affect the profits of local entrepreneurs. Cultural income will decrease, because when people lack money, they will not spend it on hobbies or passions. The overall quality of life is declining, and long-term unemployment is leading to an increase in crime rates. I will do everything I can to prevent the Commune from falling into a vicious cycle of unemployment and despair and to pull it out of this situation, declared Michał Ritter.

On June 4, the Solidarity group held a protest in front of the gates of the rolling mill. Union members want to keep the plant. However, this is unlikely to happen. – The company’s business decision has been made, and we do not see any way to reverse it – Anna Janocha, a spokesperson for Boryszew Capital Group, to which Alchemia SA belongs, replied to Money.pl a few days ago

Piotr Bera, money.pl reporter