Major UK ferry operator fires 800 crew after pausing service

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — P&O Ferries, one of the largest ferry operators serving the United Kingdom, has fired 800 crew members with “immediate″ effect. Thursday’s announcement, which came without notice, touched off protests in the southeast port of Dover and prompted fired crew members to lock themselves aboard some vessels. Workers fired by Zoom message were told that ferries would be run by a third-party crew provider. P&O, a unit of Dubai-government owned logistics giant DP World, operates ferries between the U.K. and France, Ireland and the Netherlands. A union representing P&O crew members said the company’s action was “scandalous” after it received millions of pounds of British government funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.