Damen Shipyards is looking for solutions to tackle the financial issues after the dramatic year of 2020. Among the necessary measures in this regard is to cut hundreds of jobs. The workforce reorganisation has affected the group’s shipyards in the Netherlands and Romania.
Four facilities of Damen Shipyards have already cut their personnel or will do it soon. The reorganisation has been put into practice at the group’s workshops in the Netherlands and Romania. Earlier this year, 125 workmen lost their jobs at the repair yards Damen Verolme Rotterdam and Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam. Another restructuring was implemented at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania by cutting 642 jobs.
Damen Shipyards Mangalia
Among the latest company’s decisions is the staff reduction at Damen Shipyards Mangalia, another facility in Romania. The shipyard, which was acquired by Damen in 2017, will have to fire 228 people. Such reorganisation was approved at the General Meeting of Shareholders that took place in late July. According to Damen, the workmen affected by layoff will receive up to nine compensatory salaries.
Sharp decline
Damen Shipyards considers the mentioned workforce reorganisation as a necessary measure to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020 the group generated losses instead of profit. This was caused by the economic situation in the global maritime sectors. For instance, new shipbuilding orders in Europe fell by 64 per cent in tonnage last year compared to 2019 and by 40 per cent in terms of value. “The reorganisation is necessary and will allow the possibility of recovery and adaptation to the current situation so that the other hundreds of jobs are not affected,” stated Chris Groninger, general manager of Damen Mangalia Shipyard.
