Coronavirus: Redundancy warning for staff at Oundle’s Fairline Yachts

Staff have been told through company-wide video conferences that redundancies will have to be made because of the impact of coronavirus.

The pandemic is expected to see demand for the firm’s luxury motor boats drop by up to 30 per cent.

The jobs warning comes just weeks after Fairline furloughed 340 staff with a skeleton team left to complete boats under construction.

Staff were told of the need for redundancies in two video conferences. One for staff still at work and the second for those who have been furloughed.

It is not yet known how many redundancies will be needed.

Peter McNulty, Fairline Yachts’ Chief Operating Officer, said: “We, like many other businesses, are assessing our staffing requirements on an ongoing basis to ensure we keep our employees safe, operate within Government guidance and have the right people doing the right jobs to ensure our stability for the future.

“ Whilst it is still too early to understand the long term impact Covid-19 will have on the global motor yacht industry, it is likely the market will contract by around 30 per cent as a direct response to the pandemic before expanding again in future years.

“As a result it is regrettable that we will need to rebalance the business to align with reduced market demand.

“We are committed to keep manufacturing in Oundle, we are proud of our highly skilled team of craftspeople and we want to build on our exciting programme of new boat development and in order to do this we must remain competitive and agile.

Mr McNulty added: “At the moment there is no clarity around the percentage of redundancies expected, this will come from the consultation period.”