Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Thursday announced another hefty stimulus package for companies affected by the COVID-19 crisis, a measure he described as Financial Shield 2.0.
He said the package would be worth at least PLN 35 billion (EUR 7.8 billion, USD 9.3 billion), including PLN 3 billion for micro-enterprises, PLN 7 billion for small and medium-sized businesses, and PLN 25 billion for large companies in nearly 40 sectors.
Help will include non-refundable subsidies, downtime pay, exemptions from social insurance contributions and additional social security benefits for employees.
"The war against the virus is not over yet, but we can promise one thing on behalf of the Polish state: we will certainly not leave businesses and employees on their own," Morawiecki told a virtual news conference.
"We will do everything to protect jobs and the economic potential of Polish entrepreneurs," he added.
The new relief package comes after Polish lawmakers this month backed a government plan to offer help to companies affected by the latest round of restrictions amid a surge in coronavirus infections.
Poland’s authorities in March unveiled a EUR 47 billion stimulus package to shore up the economy and shield the country from the impact of an intensifying coronavirus outbreak.
The Polish Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday that some 6 million jobs had been saved throughout the country thanks to measures including the massive relief and stimulus package that the government launched earlier this year to shield the economy.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl