More than 130 workers at the Port of Liverpool have been told they are at risk of being made redundant, Unite has confirmed.
The union said a total of 132 employees have been issued with a formal HR1 redundancy notice by owner Peel Ports, in a move it branded as "desperate".
The confirmation comes after BusinessLive reported last week that jobs were to be lost at the port. However, at the time, Peel Ports did not confirm how many redundancies could be made.
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The company said there had been a "marked deterioration" in the volume of containers the port handles that had made the move "extremely regrettable but now unavoidable, given the economic backdrop".
The group added that the unitised cargo market is "experiencing a significant decline in volume due to several factors which underpin the bleak outlook on the global economy; with rising interest rates, higher energy costs and weakening consumer demand for manufactured and imported goods".
However, Unite said the redundancies "make no business sense" and have been proposed and dropped previously.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Peel Ports’ plan is to pile up even more profit at the expense of its workers and their families.
"These regurgitated, months-old plans are simply a desperate attempt to intimidate workers. It won’t work."
The redundancy news comes as Unite workers started a week-long (October 11-17) walk out demanding a pay rise in line with inflation (RPI) which is currently 12.3%.
Unite national officer Bobby Morton said: "Rather than enter into sensible negotiations, Peel Ports is making yet another cynical attempt to intimidate its workers.
"It is clear that they just want to avoid paying a fully affordable pay increase."
A spokesperson for Peel Ports said: "Unite continues to make unrealistic and unsustainable above-inflation pay demands, whilst declining a meeting with ACAS.
"We are concerned Unite have no interest in resolving matters through the collective bargaining arrangements we have in place or via an independent ballot, as it continues to push for more strikes.
"Our average 10.2% basic pay increase offered in talks last week represents an industry leading deal and is 2% above inflation, at the time of the pay anniversary and review in June.
"Ongoing strikes are hurting Liverpool City Region’s businesses and prospects for future growth and jobs, at a time of economic uncertainty and volatile market conditions.
"We call on Unite to reconsider the greatly enhanced offer via an independent ballot, so we can bring these damaging strikes to an end."
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