Poland’s previous engines of economic growth are slowly running out of steam, and geopolitical uncertainty may cool the enthusiasm of some foreign investors. In this situation, large projects that also translate into technological advancement for Polish workers will gain even more importance. One of these is to be the Electromobility Poland factory in Jaworzno.

• In 2024, 27,000 people in Poland lost their jobs as a result of mass layoffs, which particularly affected the automotive sector
• The growth model based on imitation of foreign technologies is slowly running out of steam, requiring investment in innovation and human capital
• Electromobility Poland’s plant in Jaworzno could be of key importance to the labor market, offering employment and competence development in the latest technologies in automotive in a region regarded as the center of the Polish automotive industry

In the face of difficulties on the labor market and the closure of automotive plants in Poland, Electromobility Poland’s (EMP) investment in Jaworzno assumes particular importance for the labor market. The electric and hybrid car factory, which will be built on the border of the Silesian and Malopolskie Voivodeships, may become a stimulus for the reconstruction of employment and the development of competencies in the automotive sector.

Guests at the debate On the real development of the Polish industry of the future pointed out how much the future of employment and the quality of jobs depends on skillful attraction of investments, modernization of the economy and wise state support.

Trouble on the labor market

Although the overall unemployment rate remains at a record low, recent months have brought a wave of layoffs in Poland, with 27,000 people losing their jobs in 2024. The automotive sector is particularly affected, with more parts and engine factories closing, and large employers – such as Stellantis in Tychy, Magneti Marelli in Bielsko-Biala and MA Poland – announcing job cuts reaching hundreds of people. This makes new investments in the region, which could take over qualified staff and prevent the outflow of specialists, even more necessary than before.

Poland’s previous advantages are coming to an end

Pawel Sliwowski, acting director of the Polish Economic Institute, during the debate On the real development of Poland’s industry of the future, assessed that for years Poland used the so-called imitative model, i.e. basing on foreign technologies and investments. Over the years we have used this imitative model and basing on technologies that we attracted here very successfully. However, after those previous years, when industry dominated the changes, we saw that more greenfield foreign investment was coming to Poland in the services sector, not in industry, Sliwowski said.

At the same time, he pointed out that other engines of our growth are also running out. There will no longer be the demographic pension we enjoyed. We have growing demographic problems, and we will not have the strong labor pool that we had. We are a significantly weaker retraining society than the societies of Western Europe. The participation of Poles in continuing education, in education after completing such formal education, is one of the lowest. This may suggest that we have a lower propensity to adapt to a technologically changing world and to transformations in the labor market.

This is a challenge that forces investment not only in technology, but especially in human capital. We need to invest a lot in human capital, in people’s ability to educate after graduation. There is not enough of that in Poland. Too low a percentage of people transform themselves, learn after finishing school. The education system, the system for supporting workers in the labor market from this educational side is what we should invest in, Sliwowski concluded.

Human capital as the key to success

Lukasz Kozlowski, chief economist at the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs, pointed out that abrupt policy turns can be lethal for investment. Therefore, Poland should take advantage of its position as a stable haven for capital, especially in the context of changes in the global market.

In this perspective, investments can become the impetus for building a modern labor market if they are linked to competence development, innovation and openness to talent from around the world. Kozlowski stressed that what matters is the quality of the human capital, i.e. the education system, but on the other hand also the immigration policy, which is also conducive to attracting highly skilled workers, including from abroad.

An answer to the crisis at the heart of the Polish automotive industry

EMP’s investment is also likely to have a positive impact on unfavorable trends on the Polish labor market. According to estimates, the establishment of the Jaworzno plant will bring about 15,000 new jobs – 3,000 directly at the plant and 12,000 at suppliers and subcontractors. This is not only an employment opportunity for those affected by the layoffs, but also a boost for the development of new competencies in the electromobility and high-tech sector.

The new EMP plant will be located in the Katowice Special Economic Zone, at the intersection of the A4 highway and the S1 expressway. This will make the job offer particularly attractive to residents of the Silesian agglomeration – Katowice, Sosnowiec, Tychy, Gliwice, Zory – and western Małopolska, including Chrzanów and Skawina. These are regions with a strong industrial tradition and high competence potential, where more than 40 automotive companies employing more than 36,000 people already operate.

A key element of the strategy is the construction of a research and development center at the factory and the development of a local economic cluster. More initiatives are to be developed around the investment, laying the foundation for the future development of the region.

An opportunity for the region and the entire industry

The creation of an electric and hybrid car factory in Jaworzno is not only a response to the current crisis, but also an investment in the future of the Polish automotive industry and labor market. In an era of technological transformation and industry restructuring, such projects can become a flywheel for entire regions, ensuring employment stability and the development of new competencies.

About 400,000 people in Poland work in the automotive industry. Today, however, we are mainly suppliers of components to other factories in Europe (…). From the perspective of Electromobility Poland and from the perspective of active process management, we should aim to have the headquarters of the European brand established in Poland. – EMP CEO Tomasz Kedzierski admitted. As he added, it is the automotive industry – because of its technological potential – that to a large extent helps determine the competitiveness of the entire industry of a country or region.

In the context of technological changes, Lukasz Malichenko, vice president of Electromobility Poland, pointed out the need to build its own competence and develop new technologies in Poland. Trends related to electromobility, to the development of technology related to connectivity, to the broader area of software defined vehicles, these are trends that we need to be prepared for as an automotive sector in Poland. We see a great opportunity to take advantage of opportunities to cooperate with partners in Asia, where this technology is most developed, in order to learn from them, to develop our own competencies and thus also develop manufacturers, especially component manufacturers here, locally, in Poland, Malichenko explained during the debate.

At the same time, he pointed out that automation and robotization do not have to mean a massive loss of jobs, but require a thoughtful education policy and investment in retraining workers. We need to be prepared for the fact that the mix of combustion, hybrid and electric cars will remain for some time to come, but electromobility is not a trend that is reversing. It is necessary to invest in these technologies, and a very important issue is securing the supply chain related to batteries and raw materials, he assessed, adding that the Electromobility Poland project will ensure that key technologies in automotive can actually be developed in Poland by workers here.

Text published in Business Insider