EasyJet had made a heartwarming gesture to members of staff made redundant from P&O Ferries.
The ferry company terminated the contracts of all their workers will immediate effect on Thursday, March 17, causing outrage all over the country. Staff were told the news in a pre-recorded video message on Zoom.
The company will use an agency to keep their ferries running and current staff will be able to apply to the agency for work. CEO of P&O Ferries Peter Hebblethwaite said the firm was forced to take the 'difficult but necessary' decision after losing £100million year on year.
READ MORE: All P&O Ferries sailing staff 'made redundant' after suddenly suspending services
He added he stands by his decision to replace the fired staff with agency workers who will reduce the firm's crewing costs by 50%. Since the news of redundancies was reported, EasyJet has added fast-track applications for UK Cabin Crew roles for P&O Ferries employees.
The post said: "Following the sad news about redundancies at P&O Ferries, we'll fast-track applications for UK Cabin Crew roles from P&O Ferries employees and reach out to impacted employees: careers.easyjet.com/cabin-crew. Roles are also available at our Luton HQ. Thinking of everyone impacted today."
Dozens of people responded to the tweet praising the airline for its 'brilliant gesture'. Helen Nelson said "Well done EasyJet, a great move", and Anthony O'connell added "Brilliant gesture EasyJet. Love flying with you, never any issues or problems".
Union members in Liverpool, and across the UK, will take part in protests after P&O issued 800 redundancies. Three protests, planned by The Rail, Maritime and Transport workers' Union (RMT), will take place in Liverpool, Dover and Hull on Friday afternoon.
The protest in Liverpool is set for 1pm at the Main Liverpool Port entrance (L21 1LA). The announcement for the 'emergency demonstrations' was made on RMT's Twitter page with a post called 'Stop the P&O jobs massacre'.
P&O Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, operates four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland. It has 2,200 employees remaining in the UK and began operating ferries in the 1960s.
P&O Ferries said in a statement on Thursday: "In its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business. We have made a £100 million loss year on year, which has been covered by our parent, DP World. This is not sustainable.
"Our survival is dependent on making swift and significant changes now. Without these changes, there is no future for P&O Ferries."
