The Rosslare-to-Cherbourg route operated by P&O Ferries will cease and one of the seven ships serving the State will be taken out of service as part of a restructuring plan, the company confirmed today.
The plan will see 1,200 jobs cut and a further 350 staff transferred to rival Britanny Ferries, who will take on two of P&O's ships. P&O's fleet will reduced by eight to 23 and four of its 13 ferry routes will close. According to P&O Irish Sea Ferries, a very small number of jobs based in Ireland will also be lost.
The company says the plan is to salvage its money-losing ferry business, which has been hit by competition from low-cost airlines and the channel tunnel.
P&O, whose ferries carry passengers and freight between Ireland, Britain and continental Europe, said today the staff cuts under the "radical restructuring" would represent 20 per cent of its work force and would save the company £55 million sterling a year.
P&O will take a £240 million exceptional charge in the current financial year as a result of the review and write-down of goodwill.
Unions are expected to consider strike action over job cuts. P&O shares gained 1.1 per cent to 249-3/4 pence. The company, which earns most of its revenues from container terminals and logistics, had flagged the review.
P&O is focusing on its core container terminal and logistics business, which it expects to get a boost this year from economic growth, particularly in China.
n April, P&O sold its 50 per cent stake in the former P&O Nedlloyd joint venture and is also disposing of properties, including its La Manga Club resort in Spain.
Agencies