Stena Line has announced that it will furlough 600 employees and make 150 staff members redundant across Ireland and the UK as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Rte.ie quotes the company as saying, "This urgent measure is an unavoidable response to the on-going global COVID-19 crisis that has had a hugely damaging effect on travel and transport across Europe."
Stena stated that it has experienced a significant decrease in booking numbers and freight volumes, and that it does not anticipate that its passenger numbers will recover until next year.
The company said, "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 to the UK and Ireland are protected."
Furloughed staff members will have 80% of their salaries maintained, with the difference being made up by Stena in circumstances where Irish and UK government schemes do not cover the full amount.
950 Stena staff members have already been laid off in Scandinavia.
"Very Difficult Decisions"
Stena Line director Ian Hampton stated, "The COVID-19 crisis has meant that Stena Line is experiencing a significant decline in passenger and freight volumes across all its 20 European routes. We are having to make some very difficult decisions that we hoped we would never have to make.
"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."
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