P&O reportedly spent £47m on mass sacking of seafarers in 2022
P&O Ferries reportedly spent more than £47m sacking hundreds of seafarers in 2022, according to Sky News, which references the firm’s accounts due to be published in the coming days.
The P&O mass sackings reportedly helped the ailing firm slash losses by more than £125m and helped put it on a path back to profitability.
There was outrage and protests over the move, which saw 800 crew across its entire fleet fired with no warning and no consultation. The cost-saving measures were framed by the firm as a last-ditch attempt to save the company, after its losses trebled to £374.5m, from £103.3m in 2021.
The mainly British seafarers were replaced with largely non-European agency staff earning as little as £4.87 an hour. This move was hugely controversial and has drawn criticism from many quarters.
In October, it was widely reported that DP World, P&O’s Dubai-based parent, was contemplating withdrawing a £1bn investment at its London Gateway port following criticism of P&O by the UK Transport Secretary Louise Haigh.
P&O maintains that the ‘restructuring’ in 2022 was necessary to allow it to compete with its rivals on cross-Channel routes. The firm says the move helped to prevent a total collapse of the company, which employs over 2,000 jobs.
Sky News says it has seen financial statements for P&O Holdings, filed 11 months late. The outlet reports that the company says the restructuring cost £47.4m including legal fees and consultants, allowing it to cut the overall wage and salary bill by £21.3m.
A statement accompanying the accounts, written by P&O’s directors and seen by Sky News, reportedly describes the restructuring as part of a ‘transformational journey’.
“The business has been on a transformational journey as it has recovered from the challenges of the global pandemic, Brexit and the impact of disruption caused by the change in the crewing model,” the directors say.
“The group believes that the transformational actions that commenced in 2022 and continue through into 2024 will equip the business to grow profitably when demand rises in the coming years.”
The accounts reveal the company recorded a loss of £249m in 2022 and was reliant on loans totalling £365m from parent company DP World to remain a going concern.
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