Harland & Wolff is expected to record losses of some £8 million sterling (€13 million) in the second quarter due to the costs of redundancy payments and an "under-utilisation" of sections of the workforce, according to its parent company.

A profit warning issued to the Oslo stock exchange by Fred Olsen Energy said a net loss of some £8 million would be reflected in its consolidated accounts, which are due for publication next week.

The statement includes details on the redundancy plan agreed at the shipyard. It shows that as of June 30th 253 employees had left the company, which has a total workforce of 1,585. A further 72 employees have been issued with redundancy notices. The losses were boosted by the under-utilisation of parts of the workforce and the fact that some departments were not operating at full capacity. Notice of the financial loss comes as workers returning from the traditional July 12th holidays have been put on a three day working week.