Restructuring prompts big layoffs: TPSA, KGHM and banks still to come

Restructuring of publicly listed companies during the past several years has had a dismal effect on Poland's unemployment rate, pushing up the number of jobless in 1999 by 10,000, while in the following year some 5,000 were sacked, and this year another 3,000 are expected to loose their jobs. Despite the high figures, several large firms, notably banks, telecom giant Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA) and copper concern KGHM Polska Miedz, haven't even been taken into account yet. The heftiest layoffs have so far come in the food and beverages sector (7,500), followed by the wood and paper (5,000), electronics (3,800) and chemical (3,400) industries. With the exception of TPSA, the IT and telecommunications sector has seen almost no job cuts so far. (Rzeczpospolita, March 17-18, p.B1)