Gothenburg, Sweden: Stena Line is to furlough 600 staff and make 150 jobs redundant in the UK and the Republic of Ireland as a result of falling passenger numbers and freight volumes due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Stena estimates that passenger figures will not recover until well into 2021. “As a result of the significant reduction in revenue, the firm is forced to take tough decisions in order to cut costs and ensure that their vital supply lines of essential goods in Europe,” Ian Hampton, director, Stena Line said in a statement.
The move follows a reduction of the number of sailings on several routes with several vessels taken out of service. “In order to secure the continuity of our freight operations, we have no choice but to reduce our costs. We are committed to keep vital supply lines open for UK and Ireland. Regrettably we must furlough employees on temporary paid leave and make redundancies, as we adjust to this new reality. We will do everything in our means to ensure essential supply lines stay operational during what is a very difficult time for the company and the countries that we serve,” Hampton said.
On Monday, 16 March, Stena Line announced redundancies affecting 950 staff employed in Scandinavia. Further job losses have subsequently been made in Denmark and the Baltics. The company is evaluating its operations in all regions and does not rule out that there could be further furlough, redundancy or changes to its current sailing schedules or routes.
Stena Line’s Irish Sea and North Sea operations involve 252 crossings per week and 750,000 freights units on the Irish Sea annually, 73 crossings per week and 532,000 freights units on the North Sea annually, as well as owning the ports of Holyhead, Cairnryan and Fishguard. Holyhead is the second largest RoRo port in the UK with 550,000 freight units per annum. 80% of Irish exports travel through the three ports. Stena has 17 vessels deployed permanently around the UK on ten routes.
