P&O Ferries has issued a statement confirming rumours that it is making 800 employees redundant.
A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said the company was currently not a “viable business” and the seafarers had been handed immediate severance notices with compensation packages for the “lack of advance notice”.
The firm said: “P&O Ferries plays a critical role in keeping trade flowing, supply chains moving, and connecting families and friends across the North and Irish seas and the English Channel. We have been at the heart of this service for years and we are committed to serving these vital routes.
“However, in its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business. We have made a £100m 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.
“These circumstances have resulted in a very difficult but necessary decision, which was only taken after seriously considering all the available options. As part of the process we are starting today, we are providing 800 seafarers with immediate severance notices and will be compensating them for this lack of advance notice with enhanced compensation packages.
“In making this tough decision, we are securing the future viability of our business which employs an additional 2,200 people and supports billions in trade in and out of the UK. And we are ensuring that we can continue serving our customers in a way that they have demanded from us for many years.”
P&O has therefore suspended sailings “for the next few days”.
The firm posted on Twitter: “P&O Ferries services are unable to run for the next few days, we are advising travellers of alternative arrangements.”
Earlier today, P&O suspended sailings ahead of a “major announcement”, but insisted it was “not going into liquidation” and the plans were to secure the long-term viability of the business.
The statement added: “To facilitate this announcement all our vessels have been asked to discharge their passengers and cargo and stand by for further instructions.
“This means we’re expecting all our ports to experience serious disruption today.”
P&O Ferries, which transports passengers and freight, has nearly 4,000 employees. It was bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World for £322m in 2019.
It operates these four routes: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam; Liverpool to Dublin; and Cairnryan, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland.
Sailings between Hull and Zeebrugge, Belgium, were axed in January 2021.
Following the coronavirus outbreak, P&O Ferries warned in May 2020 that around 1,100 workers could lose their jobs as part of a plan to make the business “viable and sustainable”.
The Scottish Government will pay particular attention to developments on the Cairnryan to Larne ferry route, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday after reports that P&O was about to announce major redundancies, she said: “For Scotland, the relevant issue here is the Cairnryan to Larne route and we will pay particular attention to any implications for that.”
She added that “this will be a seriously worrying time for those who work for P&O” and hoped there would not be a “mass-scale fire and rehire situation”.
Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer said: “P&O should be universally condemned for this attempt to sack their entire UK workforce and replace them with agency staff on worse pay and conditions.
“On behalf of the Scottish Green Party I offer the workers and their unions our solidarity and urge both the Scottish and UK Governments to engage with the company and unions as a matter of urgency.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Ferry workers were on the frontline through the pandemic, keeping essential services going – and this is how they are being repaid.
“This cannot be allowed to stand – we need urgent and united action from the Scottish and UK government to put a stop to this and protect workers’ livelihoods.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Willie Rennie said that the Cairnryan link to Northern Ireland run by P&O is an important link. "It would be completely unacceptable for P&O workers to be sacked and replaced with foreign agency labour."
Mark Dickinson, general secretary of maritime union Nautilus International, said: “The news that P&O Ferries is sacking the crew across its entire UK fleet is a betrayal of British workers.
“It is nothing short of scandalous given that this Dubai-owned company received millions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money during the pandemic.
“There was no consultation and no notice given by P&O - be assured the full resources of Nautilus International stand ready to act in defence of our members.”
Jo Mackie, head of employment at Slater and Gordon, said: “S&G supports both Nautilus and RMT and the employees in this dispute - if it is true that P&O has failed to consult on thousands of redundancies then they are in breach of established redundancy law.
“There is a duty to collectively consult under TULCRA [Trade Unions and Labour Relations Consolidation] Act 1992. Any employee affected should speak to their Trade Union or to us immediately.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We are receiving reports that security guards at Dover are seeking to board ships with handcuffs to remove crew so they can be replaced with cheaper labour.
“We are seeking urgent legal action and are again calling for the government to take action to stop what is fast turning into one of the most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations.
“If this happens at P&O it can happen anywhere, and we are calling for mass trade union and wider public mobilisation and protest against the company.”
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