»Due to poor market conditions« dutch Heer[ds_preview]ema Fabrication Group (HFG) – sister company of Heerema Marine Contractors – is going to dismiss more than half of it‘s staff.
Reasons would be the bad conditions in the oil and gas industry, increasing competition, the combination of price pressure and unfavourable contractual conditions in the wind energy market, and the somber prospects for the near future, HFG said in a statement. Therefore, a reorganization of the company was announced.
This would focus on adapting to the »strongly decreasing volume of work«. As a result of the restructuring, an anticipated 450 of the existing 770 jobs in the company will be »phased out«, it was added. The job losses will affect the head office in Zwijndrecht (Netherlands), next to the HFG yards in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Poland.
Management of Heerema in discussions with trade unions
The management said it has already informed the employees of the situation and requested advice from the works council of HFG Netherlands. »HFG is absolutely committed to supporting all employees who are made redundant as best as it can, and has entered into discussions with the trade unions about a severance scheme.« CEO Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven said »We will do our utmost to support them throughout this difficult period. At the same time we are convinced that these steps are absolutely essential for the stability of HFG and to guarantee its continuity.«
The plans would enable HFG to continue operations at all its locations in Vlissingen, Zwijndrecht, Hartlepool (UK) and Opole (Poland). Each of these yards has its own specialism in the design and fabrication of complex steel constructions for the worldwide offshore oil and gas market and the wind energy market. »The expectation is that, due to growing energy requirements in the long term, the number of projects in the market will increase again in the future. Until that time we will do everything in our power to maintain as much employment as possible«, van Brouwershaven added.
