UK Shipping Firm Fires 800 Seamen, Causes Port Chaos

A Dubai-owned British ferry company fired 800 seafarers on Thursday, bringing chaos to some of the country's biggest ports and prompting union officials to urge the workers to occupy their ships, Anna Cooban reported for CNN Business.

Photo Insert: P&O Ferries carries more than 10 million passengers and 2.2 million units of freight between ports in the United Kingdom and Europe each year.

P&O Ferries carries more than 10 million passengers and 2.2 million units of freight between ports in the United Kingdom and Europe each year. The company, which is owned by Dubai's logistics group DP World, said that it had resorted to mass layoffs to ensure its survival.

"In its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business. We have made a £100 million ($130 million) loss year on year, which has been covered by our parent DP World," a spokesperson told CNN Business.

"This is not sustainable. Our survival is dependent on making swift and significant changes now," the spokesperson added. The company said it would provide "enhanced compensation packages" to fired staffers. It said that services would be suspended over the next few days and passengers would be rebooked with other carriers.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a tweet that he was "very concerned" about the impact on workers. P&O told crew on Thursday to disembark passengers and remove cargo from their vessels, according to a note to staff shared by UK lawmaker Karl Turner on Twitter.

RMT, a labor union representing transport workers, had speculated before Thursday's announcement that hundreds of its members would be replaced by foreign workers — and instructed them to stay on board.

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