The mass sacking in March was necessary – otherwise P&O Ferries would not have survived, says chief executive of the much-debated ferry operator’s owner, DP World.
In March, the management of P&O Ferries had to choose whether to fire 800 employees – or shut down the ailing company.
Such was the graveness of the situation, according to the chief executive of P&O’s owner, DP World, when the ferry operator in March caused a political outcry in the UK following the mass layoff of employees in order to replace them with cheaper, foreign labor.
In an interview with Financial Times, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chair and CEO of the Dubai-based company, praises P&O CEO Peter Hebblethwaite for having ”done an amazing job because he managed to save the company instead of 3,000 people [being] out of a job.”
At the same time, Sulayem criticizes the UK government’s handling of the case following the mass layoff. The government has been highly critical toward the P&O management’s course of action.
“We said many times, [the UK government] can’t do anything now because [the P&O decision] is in the past,” states the DP World chief exec.
Only one said no
He adds that “nobody was hurt” – referring to the fact that only one of the sacked employees has refused to accept the compensation package offered following the mass layoff.
According to Sulayem, P&O Ferries is now competitive and can thus support the government by transporting goods in and out of the UK.
He furthermore blames the UK government for not having supported the carrier sufficiently during the coronavirus pandemic. Grant Shapps, UK transport secretary, has previously said that P&O received GBP 11m in furlough money during the pandemic and has called for the funds to be repaid.
In the interview, Sulayem also states that he looks positively upon the government’s plans to enforce a minimum wage for seafarers on board ferries sailing to and from the UK.
“It would help us because all the competitors have different wages for their crews,” he says.
