Dutch shipowner Van Oord has revealed a plan to make 500 staff members redundant to cope with the effect of pandemic lockdowns.
The dredging and offshore specialist said the jobs would go worldwide. About 120 of the lay-offs will come in the Netherlands under a collective redundancy plan.
The company is starting consultations with Dutch unions.
"These are difficult measures for our company and employees. But we adapt to remain a healthy, innovative company that capitalises on the longer term potential of its markets," Van Oord said.
The shipowner added that it was facing a decline in revenue and a "deterioration" in its results.
Restructuring to remain healthy
"We will adapt and restructure the organisation to this new reality to ensure that we remain healthy and to strengthen our competitive position," Van Oord said.
The group has 80 ships, and six dredgers on order.
"As a company operating on a global scale, Covid-19 is having a major impact on our business," the company added.
"Market conditions in the dredging industry are under pressure and the volatility in oil and gas prices also triggers a decrease of offshore field services."
In May, Van Oord was part of a consortium that took over Dutch shipbuilding group Royal IHC in a refinancing deal with the yard's banks.
The shipowner teamed up with shipowner Huisman on the transaction, as well as Luxembourg fund HAL Investments and Belgian fund Ackermans & van Haaren.
And in January, the company announced a partnership with NYK Line to push into the Japanese wind farm vessel sector.
A memorandum of understanding outlined a plan to own and operate offshore wind installation ships under the Japanese flag.
The companies aim to start operating a jack-up vessel in Japan by 2022 at the earliest.
The ship will have a crane capacity of more than 1,000 tonnes — big enough for the new generation of turbines.
