Shipyard workers fear 50% lay-offs

Workers at Belfast’s troubled Harland and Wolff shipyard will hear plans today for redundancies which are expected to more than halve the work force.

Bosses at the yard are meeting trade union shop stewards at lunchtime to detail the extent of job cuts, workers will be called together immediately afterwards to be told their fate.

There are just 390 core workers left in the once great shipbuilder and sources in the yard have indicated half will have to go.

But unions believe the extent of redundancies could be even worse.

Drew Kane, chairman of the senior shop stewards , said: “We expect major redundancies, as yet we have no numbers or details, but we fear it may even be in excess of the 200 that has been mentioned.”

Mr Kane told PA News: “It is a very sad day for the history of shipbuilding.”

The shipyard has no orders on its books beyond two roll-on roll-off ferries being completed for the Ministry of Defence – the second of which is due for delivery in the early part of next year.

Whatever workforce is left after today “it is not going to be viable as a ship yard,” said Mr Kane.

The company allegedly had a plan to continue in the ship repair field, but it would in essence signal the end of ship building in Belfast after nearly 150 years, he said.

Harland and Wolff would make no comment on its plans ahead of the meetings with unions and workers.

“We will be discussing the current situation and the future. Any statement will not be made until we have advised the employees.

“It is only right and proper that the employees and their representatives hear it first from the company,” said a spokesman.

The shipyard, builders of the Titanic, employed 35,000 at their peak during the 2nd World War turning out fighting ships and cargo boats at the rate of one a week.

But it has been in decline ever since , two years ago Norwegian parent company Olsen Energy cut the workforce from 1,200 to 600 and the number shave gradually slipped since.

Only four months ago a rescue plan to secure the current 400 workforce was introduced , but appears to have failed.

Under the plan Stormont ministers gave permission for something like half the shipyard land to be designated for business other than ship building -the money raised to have been used to secure the future of yard.

But everything depends on orders and the shipyard simply has been unable to secure any in the depressed global economic climate.