P&O Ferries mass firings of UK crew members outrage unions

By JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Unions are protesting at British ports after major ferry operator P&O Ferries fired 800 U.K. crew members to replace them with cheaper contract staff. P&O has canceled all its ferry crossings between Britain and continental Europe, threatening to disrupt the movement of travelers and goods in key routes across the English Channel and North Sea for days. The British government has expressed outrage at the mass firings but suggested it could do little to reverse them. P&O said it had no choice but to cut costs after posting a $132 million loss last year. The opposition Labour Party demanded Britain’s Conservative government claw back the $5.6 million it gave the company in emergency funding during the pandemic.