Almost 20 percent of Polish companies will lay off staff as the slowing economy bites into demand for their products, a business lobby survey showed on Monday. The Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) surveyed 160 companies of different sizes and also found that 87 percent believed the economic crisis was only beginning. As many as 70 percent of the companies surveyed said their orders had fallen on around 32 percent on average.
"The threats for the companies are being felt more and more," said KIG's deputy head Mieczyslaw Bak. "Some of the answers said demand fell by as much as 60-80 percent." The survey also showed 36 percent of firms were cutting investments, while 43 percent said they were considering both layoffs and lowering investment levels. Only 20 percent said they had no such plans.
Poland's economy is expected to fare better than many of its regional peers as the euro zone economy battles recession but its economy is also slowing sharply. After growing 4.8 percent in 2008, the European Union's largest ex-communist economy is seen growing by a touch more than 1 percent, mainly supported by private consumption as exports have been plummeting in recent months.
"This is the beginning of the crisis and the worst is still to come. This year will bring slower domestic demand, cuts in investment plans, falling employment and lower wage growth," said Marcin Mroz, chief economist at Fortis Bank in Warsaw. "But overall in 2009 we should see GDP growth on the positive side, although it cannot be ruled that one of the quarters could be negative."
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