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| - One of Europe's largest coal companies, Poland's state-run PGG, agreed Tuesday to talks with unions and experts aimed at restructuring operations hit hard by price and demand slumps triggered by the coronavirus crisis. Bowing to pressure from powerful miners' trade unions, PGG backed out of an earlier plan that reportedly included closing several mines at a cost of up to 8,000 jobs plus salary cuts. Solidarity miners' union leader Dominik Kolorz had dubbed the plan "madness", adding that unions wanted any changes to be spread out over at least four decades. Government and PGG company officials met Tuesday with miners' trade unions in the southern Polish coal city of Katowice. "The (original PGG) plan wasn't officially presented (to unions) because it was clear it wasn't accepted," Karol Manys, a spokesman for Poland's state assets ministry, told local media. The issue of employment in the coal sector is particularly sensitive in Poland, where miners are still a powerful voting bloc. State assets minister Jacek Sasin proposed a "working group consisting of representatives of union, company management and experts" to review PGG's restructuring plan and "work out solutions acceptable to unions," Manys added. PGG recorded over 400 million zloty (107 million euro, $91 million) in losses in 2019, according to company records, while reports indicate it has lost some 2.7 billion zloty in revenue this year as the pandemic dampened demand and coal prices. "We're experiencing a difficult and very sharp decline in demand for coal, which means reduced revenues, and on the other hand, we need to look for funding to continue functioning," PGG chief Tomasz Rogala told local media at the Tuesday talks. PGG employs some 41,000 people, with Rogala saying the company wants to "keep as many jobs as possible". Depending on coal for 80 percent of its power needs, Poland ranks among the EU members that are most reliant on the dirty fossil fuel. Warsaw has rejected the bloc's 2050 target of going carbon neutral, insisting it needs more time to switch to green energy. Miners and their families also account for a high proportion of Polish coronavirus cases. mas/amj/cdw
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