Poland's Gdansk shipyard, the birthplace of the anti-communist Solidarity movement, has submitted a last-ditch rescue plan to the European Union to prevent its closure.
The European Commission set a deadline of today for the yard to submit proposals on cutting capacity, and thus avoid having to repay state subsidies that could trigger its bankruptcy.
The yard is set to be privatised and either a Ukrainian or Italian company will buy a majority stake under the plan.
"We have outlined a very detailed proposal on how to make the shipyard profitable and make it work in line with EU rules," chief executive Andrzej Jaworski said. "I am convinced that the crisis can be prevented."
In 1980, what were known as the "Lenin Shipyards" in Gdansk became the birthplace of the Solidarity union which helped bring about the fall of communism in Poland and the Soviet Union.
Closing the yard would be political dynamite and the ruling conservatives are likely to do anything to avoid this ahead of a parliamentary election due in under three months.
Under EU rules, governments can give financial help to ailing companies only if cash is accompanied by plans that would make the firms viable in the long term.
"What the Commission wants to see is not a closed Gdansk shipyard, but a genuine, far-reaching restructuring of a company that would ensure its long-term viability," Commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres told a news briefing in Brussels.
"We are perfectly aware of the historic importance of the Gdansk shipyard."
The EU executive has demanded Gdansk close two of its three slipways. Polish daily Rzeczpospolita reported Warsaw had agreed to the demand.
Two other shipyards, in Gdynia and Szczecin, faced similar problems and the Commission has accepted capacity cuts in return for clearing past state aid.
The total state aid given to the three shipyards since Poland entered the European Union in 2004 amounts to 1.3 billion euros ($1.75 billion).