Provide clear information about whether or not layoff support will be provided. Otherwise, further cost-cutting measures may be in order.
This warning is issued by shipping company CEO Marcus Risberg, whose industry continues to take a beating during the corona pandemic.
The layoff support measure was introduced in March when the pandemic broke out, and the announcement so far has been that it will apply until the end of the year. What happens after that is still unclear.
”"It is worrying and alarming that we do not have a clear picture of what will happen after the turn of the year. We, like so many other businesses, must have a certain investment horizon," says Marcus Risberg, head of Tallink Silja.
TT: How urgent is it?
”"If we cannot receive clear information in the near future – and then we are talking about days or a week regarding an extension – we may be forced to review the number of personnel.".
The cruise industry is one of the worst-hit industries during the pandemic. Tallink Silja's interim report this summer was a clear example of this. The number of passengers in the second quarter amounted to just over 388,000, compared to 2.6 million in the same period last year – a drop of 85 percent.
Revenues during the quarter fell 74 percent while operating profit plummeted 95 percent. Marcus Risberg states that around 80 percent of the staff have been laid off and that winter and spring 2021 are now seen as lost revenue periods.
”"We have set our operations to winterize during the 2020/21 off-season. We see that we will be below a low operational level until spring and then have a more stabilized existence in 2021. Then it is important that we have reasonable control over the spread of infection and that people actually want to move around.".
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, operations on the Stockholm-Helsinki route have been suspended for both Tallink Silja and its competitor Viking Line. The recently announced Finnish travel restrictions towards Sweden will therefore not have a major impact on Tallink Silja in the short term.
But Marcus Risberg is still strongly critical of the Nordic countries' different strategies against the spread of the infection.
”"The Nordic cooperation, which was thought to be there, has ultimately not proven to be as solid as thought. They have not found a way to handle the situation in a balanced way when it comes to border and travel restrictions. There has not been a unified line.".
Source: TT
