P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite has told Transport Secretary Grant Shapps he will not reverse the decision to sack 800 seafarers.
In a letter to the Cabinet minister, Mr Hebblethwaite wrote: “The circumstances which led P&O Ferries to make the decision in the first place still apply.
“Complying with your request would deliberately cause the company’s collapse, resulting in the irretrievable loss of an additional 2,200 jobs.
“I cannot imagine that you would wish to compel an employer to bring about its own downfall, affecting not hundreds but thousands of families.”
P&O fired 800 staff with immediate effect over Zoom, escorting them from their ships.
They are to be replaced with cheap agency staff. Mr Hebblethwaite wrote that he could not delay Thursday’s deadline for P&O Ferries workers to decide whether to accept redundancy offers, as more than 765 of the 786 affected crew members have “taken steps to accept the settlement offer”.
He added that he will not resign.
He wrote: “I am compelled to discharge my duties for this historical company, saving the jobs of the 2,200 dedicated employees who continue working for P&O Ferries and providing for the effective operation of the trade routes upon which this country depends.
“I will there continue to do my utmost to ensure that this company has a sustainable business for the future.”
