It’s a thunderbolt in Britain. On the morning of Thursday 17 March, P&O Ferries announced the dismissal of 800 British sailors with immediate effect. In France, in Calais (Pas-de-Calais), the company’s local management confirmed this during an extraordinary social and economic committee in the afternoon, a union source told Agence France-Presse. , “Management read us a press release from British management, we don’t know any more”, added this source pointing “that no employees in France are affected”.

contacted by WorldA spokesman said “In its current state, P&O Ferries is not a viable business”. The firm has faced mounting losses amid the Covid-19 crisis, Brexit and now rising diesel costs. The parent company, DP World, based in Dubai, states that it has never taken dividends from P&O Ferries. “We lost £100m (€118.4m) year over year, which was covered by our parent company. This is not sustainable, communication department explains, Our survival now depends on rapid and significant change. P&O Ferries has no future without these changes. ,

Immediately notices of dismissal were sent to the sailors, who were to be replaced by about a hundred Colombian sailors and about forty temporary workers. “By making this difficult decision, we are ensuring the future viability of our business, which employs 2,200 people and supports billions of dollars in business to and from the UK.add to World British spokesperson. And we make sure we can continue to serve our customers. ,

However, on Tuesday 15 March, the ferry company announced on Twitter that all travel restrictions related to COVID-19 would be lifted for all passengers arriving in England from 4am on Friday. Something that makes you want to cross the channel again. But on Thursday, at 9 a.m., subscribers on the same social network discovered this short message: “Unfortunately, P&O ferry services may not operate for the next few hours. Our port teams will guide you and the trip will be organized through an alternate operator. ,

“The British Government must act”

In the middle of the afternoon, a new message specified that many of (their) services would not function for the next few days. At the port of Calais, according to the regional daily north voice, The stoppage of traffic led to a slowdown and a line of trucks headed to the Port Ring Road.

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