Ex-employees ready to bankrupt Fincast in pursuit of their unpaid wages

Former employees of Fincast, the company which owned TV station Tele 5, have filed for the company's bankruptcy since they have failed to receive due salaries from the firm. The motion has been submitted by seven employees who have been trying to claim a total back pay of zł. 80.000 for over six months. "We have turned to vindication companies, but none wanted to take on the task of recovering our money," said one ex-Fincast employee. If a company files for bankruptcy, paying liabilities towards its employees is the priority. Producers of TV programs are in a worse situation since they are the last to be paid. The court has two months to look into the motion. Fincast representatives declined to discuss the issue and its president, Vittorio Hemsi, was unavailable for comment. (Puls Biznesu, p. 11) A.Z. In Brief: PZL redundancies; e-kancelaria.pl; Phillip Morris Polska; Gino The management of Mielec-based aircraft producer PZL intends to lay-off 400 of its 1,700 staff. The redundancies will begin in the middle of November and will continue until the end of March 2004. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) ... The first internet legal advisory service, e-kancelaria.com.pl, was launched last month. It is targeted at small and medium sized enterprises. (Parkiet, p. 4) ... The largest cigarette producer, Phillip Morris Polska, has estimated that its sales revenues will reach over zł. 4 billion this year. The firm also said it will maintain its 36% share of the cigarette market. (Parkiet, p. 4) ... This year, Polish-Italian shoe producer Gino Rossi intends to launch four brand outlets in Sosnowiec, Zabrze as well as Berlin and Prague. It is also planning to open 15 outlets in Scandinavia and expand its network in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) A.Z.