Will P&O Ferries disruption cause supply chain issues?
P&O Ferries has cancelled services for the next few days after announcing changes to make it a ‘more competitive and efficient operator’, which includes making 800 members of staff redundant.
“While we enact these changes, there will be significant disruption across P&O Ferries services over the next few days, however, we are working to minimise the impact on your journey. If travelling on our Dover/Calais route please arrive at the port as booked and we will arrange to get you away on an alternative carrier as quickly as possible,” says a statement on the organization’s website.
The changes are being made due to a significant financial loss of £100 million, with it saying these changes are necessary for the survival of the organization.
With regards to the potential impact on the supply chain, UK transport minister, Robert Courts, has said that he does not expect critical goods or services to be affected by the move but travel disruption caused by queues into Dover are more likely[1]. Courts added that the government has ‘long planned contingencies for this sort of situation, particularly around the Channel.’ As such, government modelling reportedly suggests that there is sufficient capacity to handle the temporary loss of the P&O ferries.
However, considering the significant role the organization plays in freight shipping across the Channel, some supply chains will see disruption. Businesses relying on these deliveries may therefore need to find alternative shipping routes, perhaps by booking services with the organization’s competitors which are still operating.
Adequate training
P&O Ferries is reportedly planning to replace its redundant employees with agency workers but has faced criticism with regards to the lack of notice given to staff and the potential safety concerns of the move. Indeed, some have raised concerns that the new workers could be unfamiliar with the shipping routes which would therefore jeopardise safety requirements. In addition, the Nautilus trade association has questioned whether the organization will be able to comply with the necessary familiarisation and handover training, which is especially important as one of the P&O routes is the busiest shipping lane in the world.
As the high volume of staff turnover could take within a space as short as 10 days, according to reports, it remains to be seen how the organization can provide the requisite amount of training for the staff to become acquainted with the new routes and emergency procedures on the new ships they will be sailing on.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/po-ferries-staff-redundancies-and-suspension-of-services
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Kieran Matthews
Content Creator, The BCI
