Steel worse
The Silesia financial association obtained a loan of PLN32m from PKO BP bank in order to pay interest on a number of loans owed by the Huta Katowice steelworks.
Paweł Podsiadło, MD of Silesia, does not hide that he intends to renegotiate the loan with PKO BP. He admits that he was forced to accept the bank's conditions as the survival of the steel works depended on it. However the conditions of the loan are very hard. It is rumoured that the bank sought insurance three times the original amount. This means that effectively a PLN32m loan will cost PLN90m.
Management at Huta Katowice believes that this loan will only lead to even greater losses for the steel mill. Furthermore, he added, suppliers are now dictating terms which is making conditions increasingly difficult.
Huta Katowice needs around PLN150m monthly just to keep going. Mirosław Wróbel, MD of Huta Katowice, said that if no funds are received in the next few days then he will not be able to buy raw materials. The immediate result will be turning off one of the furnaces and laying off 2,000 workers.