Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Dolna Odra, a power generation plant in Gryfino, north-western Poland, announced in September 2025 the permanent closure of its coal-fired units. It is operated by PGE, one of the country's largest electricity producers. It will affect production and operational workers and begin at the end of 2025 with the decommissioning of the first two coal blocks. Employment will shrink from around 750 workers to 395. Further job cuts are scheduled to continue until the final two coal blocks are shut down on 31 August 2026.
The closure is linked to the green transition and PGE's strategy for Dolna Odra to replace coal-based electricity generation with gas-and-steam technology. Still, the new plant facilities will require fewer employees than the former coal operations. PGE plans to expand gas-fired generation and also develop battery energy storage facilities, which may provide future employment opportunities for some affected workers in Gryfino.
NSZZ Solidarność Elektrownia Dolna Odra opposes the closure, arguing that converting the plant to operate on coal and biomass would have been a more cost-effective option. Union representatives also highlight the site's role in supporting the electricity system's recovery after blackouts and raise those concerns during discussions with company management and government officials responsible for critical infrastructure.
Workforce reductions at PGE are planned through voluntary departure programmes, mutual termination agreements and severance packages.
PGE has also planned to close in 2026 its plant in Rybnik PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna 2026 - PL
Updated, 10/09/2026
The restructuring process concluded on 31 August 2026 with the shutdown of the final coal blocks. Employment at the plant decreased from around 750 workers to 395 after the first phase of closures in December 2025. Then it decreased to 124 by August 2026, resulting in a total of 626 job losses. All workforce reductions at PGE were implemented through voluntary departure programmes, mutual termination agreements and severance packages.
Eurofound (2025), PGE, Closure in Poland, factsheet number 301023, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/301023.