Staff, MPs and unions express outrage and travellers are told to expect disruption.
A backlash against P&O Ferries is growing after the firm sacked 800 staff without giving them any notice.
Maritime minister Robert Courts said he was "frankly angry at the way workers have been treated". He told the House of Commons P&O's actions were "wholly unacceptable". Mr Courts said the company had told him it will be suspending services for a week to 10 days "while they locate new crew" on the Dover to Calais, Larne to Cairnryan, Dublin to Liverpool and Hull to Rotterdam routes.Labour shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: "There are images circulating of what we are told are handcuff-trained security, some wearing balaclavas, marching British crew off their ships.
P&O claimed almost £15m in government grants in 2020, which included furlough payments for its employees. Transporting up to 15% of all imported goods into the UK, and carrying 10 million passengers every year, P&O Ferries would've looked a profitable bet when it was bought up by the Dubai-based ports operator DP World.DP World asked the UK government in 2020 for £150m of direct aid to safeguard what it called vital supply routes and jobs.
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