800 employees fired via Zoom – Chaos on England's coast: "Absolutely disgusting"

Created: 03/18/2022, 17:55

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

Lorries are backed up along the A20 to the port of Dover.

The ferry operator P&O Ferries, which operates the routes from Dover to Calais and from Hull to Rotterdam, among other things, is laying off its crews with 800 employees due to financial difficulties.

© Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa

In one fell swoop, Britain's most important ferry operator P&O is laying off its entire crew.

The consequences for travelers and transport companies are chaotic.

The British are angry.

Dover/Hull - They normally carry tourists and trucks, but unprecedented scenes have unfolded on P&O Ferries' ships following the surprise layoff of all 800 crew members.

On some ferries, security forces with balaclavas and handcuffs advanced and threatened to take away unruly crews, British media reported.

In at least one instance, the captain refused to lower the gangway.

There will be no ferry for days - until the temporary workers who were hired as replacements are trained.

The famous white cliffs of Dover are the first sight of Britain for many travellers.

Trucks are now backing up along the picturesque stretch of coast, frustrated vacationers are stuck.

Not only Dover is affected, the other P&O connections from Hull to Rotterdam, from Liverpool to Dublin and from Cairnryan in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland will not be served for the time being.

Before Corona, P&O brought ten million people to England every year

Despite the Eurotunnel, ferries are an important lifeline of the island.

Before the pandemic, P&O transported more than ten million people and around 15 per cent of freight to and from the UK every year.

Northern Ireland's Minister for Economic Affairs, Gordon Lyons, promptly warned that more than half of freight deliveries to Northern Ireland pass through the port of Larne.

Shops and companies could have supply problems.

For the economy in the UK it is a small, but still a hit after the major problems caused by the Corona* pandemic and Brexit.

P&O Ferries, owned by Dubai-based port operator DP World since 2019, is in a financial bind.

With the drastic step, the company wants to save.

According to their own statements, P&O has recently lost around 100 million pounds (119 million euros) a year.

Because of the corona pandemic, vacationers and freight stayed away for a long time.

"The changes we are making to our crew model will reduce our crew costs by 50 percent," the

quoted Friday as saying in a letter from company boss Peter Hebblethwaite.

Instead of the previous teams, cheaper temporary workers should steer the ships and serve travelers on board.

Members of Parliament from the affected cities said the new ones were already ready when the ferries were surprisingly ordered into the ports on Thursday.

The UK Chamber of Shipping was confident that the replacements would be able to do the job easily.

But unions warn that the new crews have no experience of the ferries and the routes.

Nautilus International Secretary-General Mark Dickinson told the BBC that navigating ships through the English Channel is "like crossing a six-lane motorway at rush hour".

Unions after mass layoffs: 'This is clearly illegal'

Nautilus announced a lawsuit against the action.

"This is clearly illegal," Dickinson said.

The union RMT also wants to take legal action against "one of the most disgraceful acts in history" by the British social partnership.

As the BBC reported, management only informed its employees via a video message - the employees were all fired via Zoom.

The crew members had to pack their things immediately.

Some protested in Dover, on Friday there should also be demonstrations at other ports.

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The government was also outraged.

Transport Minister Grant Shapps spoke of an "insensitive and brutal decision" and recalled that P&O had received short-time work benefits.

The government said it would review its contracts with the company.

But she also had to admit that her hands were tied.

It is now about supporting those who have lost their jobs.

Many angry Britons are calling for a boycott of P&O on Twitter.

Many describe the company's actions as "disgusting" and "disgusting".

A Twitter user wrote: "Perhaps we as customers of P&O Ferries should treat this company as they treat their employees." €180 million) to sponsor an elite golf competition.

This week the company fired 800 workers without warning after a £100m loss.

There should be regulations preventing companies from treating their employees’ livelihoods in this way.”

P&O recommends switching to other ferry operators over the next few days

On the other hand, there was understanding from the corona-plagued industry.

"They lost £100m a year because of the pandemic, because of an event that they couldn't control," Peter Aylott of the Shipping Association told BBC Radio 4. "Of course they had to do something."

The decision also secured the remaining 2,200 jobs.

P&O emphasized that the new crews would now be trained according to the specifications.

It was still unclear on Friday afternoon when they would be ready for use.

Travelers should switch to other ferry providers until then, P&O said.