Stena Line Announces 950 Layoffs Due to Coronavirus Impact

European ferry operator Stena Line has announced plans to layoff 950 employees due to travel restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.  

The Swedish-based company announced Monday it has seen a substantial effect on its passenger operations as a result of the virus, especially in the Scandinavia region where passenger traffic to Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Germany, and Latvia has been halted “to a large extent,” the company said. 

As of Saturday, Stena Line had completely stopped operating its Oslo, Norway – Frederikshavn, Denmark route until further notice.

The planned jobs cuts will impact 950 people employed by Stena Line Scandinavia AB on board nine Swedish-flagged vessels, as well as two sister companies Stena Line Travel Group and Retail & Food Services. 

The company said estimates that passenger operations will not recover before the peak summer season, and therefore it is forced to take drastic measures to reduce costs to the “new business situation” and to secure the continuity of their freight business.

Furthermore, the company said it was currently evaluating its overall operations in all regions and cannot rule out further reductions or changes to their networks.

“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. 

Stena Line is one of Europe’s leading ferry companies with 37 vessels and 20 routes in Northern Europe. With headquarters in Gothenburg, it is is part of the Stena AB Group, which has about 15,000 employees. 

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This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.

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