AN ex-P&O Ferries worker said he feels “stabbed in the back” by the company after he was brutally sacked over a video call yesterday by the company’s top bosses.
Ben Stewart, 27, from Devon, worked onboard P&O Ferries as a second officer, and was one of at least 800 workers who were told their contracts were being terminated immediately.
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Hundreds of staff were told that the restructure was a means for the company to stay viable, after the Covid crisis saw the ferry operator lose more than £100million.
“It just feels like they’ve completely backstabbed us,” said Ben, who has worked at the company for six months.
“They haven’t handled it well at all. There was a complete lack of empathy – some staff have been working 30 to 40 years at the company, and all of a sudden, they’ve been told they’ve been made redundant without even a thank you.”
Ben woke up on Thursday morning to news on social media that P&O Ferries had cancelled all services ahead of a major announcement.
Immediately concerned about what the announcement could be and why ferries had been left tied up in ports, he spent the morning trying to find out what was going on.
At 10:30am, he got an email from the firm telling him to log onto a company-wide video call at 11:10am, giving him just 40 minutes.
Ben, who was on a “rest week” from his duties, was at home at the time and joined the call – but he was shocked when senior management told workers they had lost their jobs.
“They described how P&O has lost millions each year and how the company is making changes to make sure it is viable and can survive
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“These changes were that they are going to hire a third party crew company – at that point I thought they were going to fire and rehire us, but then what he said completely shocked me.
“They said that with immediate effect everyone – all British sea faring staff – was to be made redundant.”
Ben is worried about being unemployed at a time when a cost of living crisis is squeezing household budgets to the max.
“I thought to myself, what do I do now? I don’t have kids, but I’m married and still have bills to pay.
“All the bills are going up, and I’ve gone from having a good career to suddenly having nothing.
“I’m very worried about the future, not just for myself, but colleagues I know have families and children who need to be fed, clothed and looked after.”
Workers who were on board ferries when they were delivered the damning news were reportedly given just “five minutes to get their stuff and get off the shops”, according to reports.
While the government said it wasn’t alerted to the lay-offs in advance, with officials in “urgent” talks about the company’s plans.
Meanwhile Brits were left stranded at ports after all of P&O Ferries’ services were cancelled.
And huge queues in the roads leading up to ports in the UK and abroad have been building up amid the chaos.
One driver in Calais due to return to the UK said he had been waiting for a ferry since 6am.
Clogged up roads could continue for up to 10 days, after P&O Ferries has now cancelled even more routes.
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