Stena Line has announced 950 planned job redundancies in Sweden. This measure is in response to the global coronavirus that has had a substantial effect on passenger operations. The ferry company cannot rule out more jobs will be cut in the near future.
Due to the coronavirus and travel restrictions imposed by several countries, Stena Line has, like many other companies within the travel industry, seen a drastic decline in travel bookings. The effect has been the worst in Scandinavia and in recent days passenger traffic to Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Germany, and Latvia has been stopped to a large extent.
The 950 planned job redundancies at Stena Line Scandinavia AB concern positions onboard and offshore, on nine Swedish flagged vessels, as well as positions in the two sister companies Stena Line Travel Group and Retail & Food Services.
Recovery to take until summer
Since Saturday, 14 March, the company has completely stopped operating its Oslo-Frederikshavn route until further notice. At present, it is estimated that passenger operations will not recover before the peak season in summer. Stena Line says in statement it is therefore ‘forced to take drastic measures to adapt to the new business situation and reduce costs and to secure the continuity of their freight business.’
‘Due to the current situation we are facing, we have no choice but to adjust our operations and our costs to limit the drop in demand and secure the continuity of our freight operations,’ says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line.
More job cuts may follow
Stena Line is currently evaluating its overall operations in all regions due to the sharp decline in travel bookings and does not rule out that there will be further reductions or series of changes to its timetables and/or the route network.
