P&O set to cut jobs in major restructure
Up to 15% of Dover staff may go as ferry operator acts to cut costs
Ferry operator P&O Ferries has warned employees that up to 15% of its Dover workforce may lose their jobs in a major restructure of the firm.
In a letter to senior staff, seen by IFW, CEO Helen Deeble said: “Any proposed job losses will be subject to full consultation and may be phased-in over time.”
Following the letter, the ferry firm told staff that up to 70 jobs could be lost at its Dover HQ.
It blamed “continuing competitive pressures, falling revenues and rising costs”, and the announcement follows from a warning from Deeble last month that the performance of the company was “going to require urgent attention”.
All staff were told: “We have, therefore, undertaken a review of all overhead costs across the business. We have looked at every cost line, plus headcount and organisation structures.”
Managers in the IT and finance departments are among those whose jobs are at risk when the company begins streamlining its current activities. And currently there are individual directors for the freight, tourism and on-board services departments, but these roles will be streamlined, creating the role of a single Commercial Director.
The announcement added: “We will be launching a Business Response Scheme, which enables individuals across the business to volunteer to work part-time or take unpaid leave of up to 12 months before the end of 2011.”
P&O has also told its employees it was reviewing the future affordability of its final salary pension scheme.
“The funding of many of our schemes is a significant and rising cost to our business, both in terms of annual ongoing cost and deficit payments,” Deeble told staff.
Steve Todd, National Officer for the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: “This is another kick in the teeth for the British ferry industry and for the port of Dover.
“Dover is now facing the twin threat of repeated job losses and reductions in service from the ferry operators and an ill-conceived privatisation plan that, combined, could seriously jeopardise the whole future of the port.”
Consultations with P&O staff and their representatives will begin on Monday.
In her letter to senior staff, Deeble said: “Given that we carry one million pieces of freight each year, every £1 reduction in the freight rate means £1 million less income.
“On the cost side, our fuel and labour costs and port dues continue to increase. We have also invested heavily for the next 30 years in two new vessels, but have taken-on loans, increasing our monthly interest payments.
“We don’t want to make a knee-jerk decision which damages the long term future and direction of the business.
“I am not keen to reduce capacity and frequency as a cost-saving solution, as our customers really value the reliability, frequency and scale that we offer, and we should be trying to protect front line services to the customer as much as possible.”
She added: “We had an aim to reduce our central costs to 5% of turnover over the next five years but, with revenue falling, our costs were not reducing quickly enough to keep pace.”
Should jobs be cut at P&O, or is there another solution? Email the Editor
In a letter to senior staff, seen by IFW, CEO Helen Deeble said: “Any proposed job losses will be subject to full consultation and may be phased-in over time.”
Following the letter, the ferry firm told staff that up to 70 jobs could be lost at its Dover HQ.
It blamed “continuing competitive pressures, falling revenues and rising costs”, and the announcement follows from a warning from Deeble last month that the performance of the company was “going to require urgent attention”.
All staff were told: “We have, therefore, undertaken a review of all overhead costs across the business. We have looked at every cost line, plus headcount and organisation structures.”
Managers in the IT and finance departments are among those whose jobs are at risk when the company begins streamlining its current activities. And currently there are individual directors for the freight, tourism and on-board services departments, but these roles will be streamlined, creating the role of a single Commercial Director.
The announcement added: “We will be launching a Business Response Scheme, which enables individuals across the business to volunteer to work part-time or take unpaid leave of up to 12 months before the end of 2011.”
P&O has also told its employees it was reviewing the future affordability of its final salary pension scheme.
“The funding of many of our schemes is a significant and rising cost to our business, both in terms of annual ongoing cost and deficit payments,” Deeble told staff.
Steve Todd, National Officer for the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: “This is another kick in the teeth for the British ferry industry and for the port of Dover.
“Dover is now facing the twin threat of repeated job losses and reductions in service from the ferry operators and an ill-conceived privatisation plan that, combined, could seriously jeopardise the whole future of the port.”
Consultations with P&O staff and their representatives will begin on Monday.
In her letter to senior staff, Deeble said: “Given that we carry one million pieces of freight each year, every £1 reduction in the freight rate means £1 million less income.
“On the cost side, our fuel and labour costs and port dues continue to increase. We have also invested heavily for the next 30 years in two new vessels, but have taken-on loans, increasing our monthly interest payments.
“We don’t want to make a knee-jerk decision which damages the long term future and direction of the business.
“I am not keen to reduce capacity and frequency as a cost-saving solution, as our customers really value the reliability, frequency and scale that we offer, and we should be trying to protect front line services to the customer as much as possible.”
She added: “We had an aim to reduce our central costs to 5% of turnover over the next five years but, with revenue falling, our costs were not reducing quickly enough to keep pace.”
Should jobs be cut at P&O, or is there another solution? Email the Editor
Click here to email the editor and comment on this story
Receive our FREE news email bulletin click here
Related articles
- 13 − 15 March 2012
- 22 − 23rd March 2012
- 25th April 2012 for 12 weeks.
- 12 − 14 June 2012
