Shipyard job losses 'inevitable'

Workers are desperate to save their jobs

A statement issued by Harland and Wolff has said substantial job losses were inevitable under whatever plan emerged to save the ailing Belfast shipyard.

The statement came as the yard's parent company, Olsen Energy, were due to hold a board meeting in Norway amid fears of further redundancies at the crisis-hit yard.

H&W is in the midst of a cash crisis and has no major contracts on its order books.

It has been in serious difficulties for months, but has now found itself in a critical condition.

The company said the process to decide on "the way forward" would be concluded during next week.

The "absence of money on completed orders" and the "uncertain orderbook position" had placed the future of the company at risk, the statement added.

"The management and board of Harland and Wolff are addressing a number of alternatives in order to create a new opportunity for the company to establish a viable offshore and shipbuilding future for the yard.

"Given the current circumstances, any proposal will inevitably involve a substantial reduction in employees."

The speculation is very strong that there will be hundreds of redundancies

Bobby Carson
Union official

The future of the yard was discussed on Monday night by union officials and the company's major shareholder, Norwegian shipping magnate Fred Olsen.

Union representatives are concerned that substantial cutbacks could be announced following Friday's meeting.

Bobby Carson of the CCEU said any announcement could have implications far beyond the Belfast yard.

"The speculation is very strong that there will be hundreds of redundancies. The extent of that is unsure," he said.

"But it is obvious it will have a major impact on the workforce and their families and also in terms of the manufacturing and engineering sections of the economy for the whole of the province."

H&W has a workforce of about 1,250, a wage bill of about £2.5m a month, and recently has been kept afloat by Olsen Energy.

Two months ago, 280 redundancy notices were issued at the yard because of the unhealthy state of its order book.

Ready for delivery

But it is hoped arbitration hearings could have a bearing on the yard's future.

Eleven days ago, a court allowed the yard's US customer, Global Marine, which had been at the centre of a major dispute, to take away a drill ship without making a final payment of £23m.

H&W had said that the vessel was ready for delivery, but Global Marine refused to accept the ship and said it was not completed to their satisfaction.

The two companies are also involved in an ongoing row over a contract involving nearly £100m.

The dispute is to be settled by arbitration in a few weeks, but in the meantime the yard is simply running out of money.

The shipyard is working to finalise a big, new order, but this has been slow to materialise.