Meyer Turku said it had negotiations about temporary layoffs in the middle of March, which has since been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

This will lead to the permanent layoff of 450 people and another 900 are affected by other measures, the yard said.

These include temporary layoffs of different length, work time adjustments and other arrangements. All personnel groups and levels are part of the negotiations.

“The corona pandemic has changed the situation unexpectedly and totally. We are facing the fact that the corona-caused pause in cruising requires to stretch the orderbook. We are currently discussing the details with our customers. This new situation will force us to take painful adaptation measures to secure a sustainable future for Finnish cruise ship building and the network,”  said Jan Meyer, CEO.

“Our preparations have been for the future. Now unexpectedly that future has changed and we have to adjust to that new future. Instead of a further ramp-up from one to two large ships delivered per year until 2023, the estimation is now that Turku shipyard will in the future build one large cruise ship per year and not further ramp-up.”

The exact changes to the building and delivery times of the seven ships in Meyer Turku orderbook (formerly reaching until 2025) are still under negotiations with the shipyard’s customers.

The yard also reported a loss for 2019, citing the delayed delivery of the Costa Smeralda.