London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

P&O Ferries boss 'incredibly sorry' for impact of sackings

P&O Ferries boss 'incredibly sorry' for impact of sackings

The boss of P&O Ferries has said he is "incredibly sorry" for the impact felt by hundreds of staff who were recently sacked by the company without notice.

But Peter Hebblethwaite insisted the decision was "the route we only deemed possible".

P&O Ferries sacked almost 800 seafarers in March and replaced them with foreign agency workers paid less than the minimum wage.

The move sparked outrage and led to calls for Mr Hebblethwaite to resign.

At the time, P&O Ferries said the decision would ensure the future of the business.

When asked how he would feel if he was sacked in the same way, Mr Hebblethwaite told the BBC it is "not pleasant being made redundant".

"I'm incredibly sorry, on the decision we took had a material impact on a number of our ex-employees. And I do regret that," he added.

However, the P&O Ferries boss insisted the move was "the route we only deemed possible for us to take", and part of "a difficult decision and repositioning for a better future".

When P&O Ferries previously made redundancies due to economic pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the business had consulted unions before, but decided not to when it sacked hundreds more 10 weeks ago.

Mr Hebblethwaite denied the decision to sack staff meant the firm was taking part in a race to the bottom on pay and standards, saying P&O needed to modernise and become competitive.

He claimed it had issued the biggest redundancy package in maritime history.

When pushed on how he justified ignoring the legal requirement to consult staff in advance of redundancy, and on the details of how and when the decision was made on how staff were to be sacked, the P&O Ferries boss declined to comment due to an ongoing investigation by the insolvency service.

He also refused to comment on whether the flag status of P&O Ferries' ships meant the company could get round UK workers' rights.


It was put to Mr Hebblethwaite that the decision had resulted in a huge reputational hit, but he said that was not what the P&O was experiencing, adding the firm had "seen really encouraging bookings coming through".

When challenged on pay levels, and the fact that seafarers on Dover to Calais route were being paid well below the UK National Minimum Wage, he said the firm's wages were consistent with international standards, adding the crewing model was consistent with 80% of global shipping.

However, he said if the law was changed in the UK, as per the government's ambitions to pay seafarers working in and out of British ports the minimum wage, the company "will absolutely do what we are required to do by law".

The chief executive also said the firm was "trying very hard" to return items to former workers, but admitted some possessions were still missing after being left on the ships when sacked workers were escorted off.


This was the first time Peter Hebblethwaite has taken questions from the media, on camera, since the shock dismissal of 786 seafarers.

We learned a bit about his background. He trained as an accountant and worked in retail and hospitality operations before joining P&O Ferries in 2019.

Mr Hebblethwaite on the one hand expressed regret over the impact on sacked workers, but on the other hand was bullish about the company's future.

He confirmed some sacked workers still haven't had personal belongings returned but insisted this was a small number and efforts continued to locate missing items - although he couldn't guarantee they would all be found.

He described plans to give the business a "glorious" future, and believes customers will return. The company expects to take delivery of new high-tech ships next year.

P&O clearly wishes to move on. But the events of 17 March did not only affect workers who lost their jobs, and prompt outrage from politicians and unions.

They also clearly caused reputational damage to the business. Real anger still exists among sacked workers about how they have been treated.

And it seems unlikely the difficult questions will disappear, even as P&O looks to the future.


'Difficult couple of months'


Separately, Mr Hebblethwaite apologised to customers about the impact of ferries being out of service, particularly on the busy Dover-Calais crossing.

P&O Ferries services were suspended after the mass sackings and several of the company's vessels failed safety inspections before being cleared to re-enter service.

The reduced ferry capacity was a contributing factor in particularly long lorry queues building up on the way to Dover before Easter.

Mr Hebblethwaite spoke to the BBC for an exclusive interview aboard the Pride of Kent, which was passed fit to sail at the fourth attempt.

Admitting it took "longer than they would have liked" to get its ships back into service, the chief executive said it had been "a difficult couple of months".

"I want to say sorry to our customers for the delay in us getting back into service, but it was important that safety was right. We are being held to a high standard," he said.


P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite spoke to the BBC's Transport Correspondent Katy Austin


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×