Harland and Wolff may have just four weeks left to secure a life-line contract before the company is forced to start issuing redundancy notices to workers, according to trade union leaders in Belfast. Francess McDonnell, Northern Ireland Business Correspondent reports.
The famous east Belfast shipyard, which has just posted losses of £6 million sterling (€9.8 million) for last year, has warned that further jobs may go by May, which means workers could receive protective notices by the end of next month.
Founded in 1861, Harland and Wolff dominated the city of Belfast, both physically and economically, for more than a century.
The shipyard was famed for White Star Line's Titanic and Olympic liners in the early 1900s and in its heyday it employed around 35,000 people. Today it employs less than 500.
Union leaders say Harland and Wolff is now struggling to stay afloat financially without any evidence of new orders in the pipeline.
Mr Jackie Nicholl, president of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Union, said he was pessimistic about the future of the yard. "I am coming to terms with the fact that more job losses are inevitable. I see no signs of any new orders or any possible rescue deal that could stave off further redundancies.
"Harland and Wolff is now in a situation where it employs 400 core workers. It has two contracts on its books for the Ministry of Defence and once those are completed in January 2003 that's it for the yard.
"The sad fact is that Harland and Wolff does not even have the necessary manpower on site to convince people that they want to stay in this business," he said.
Mr Nicholl added that the mood among the shipyard's workforce was grim. "It has just been one instalment of bad news after another. I have never been so pessimistic about the future for Harlands; some would say their time may be up," Mr Nicholl said.
In its latest financial report, Olsen Energy, the parent company of Harland and Wolff, said it would continue to pursue opportunities in the shipbuilding and offshore construction market.
Although the shipyard's operating loss has fallen from £28.7 million in 2000 to £5.8 million last year, the key issue is about future revenue.
Harland and Wolff has confirmed that it has had no success in securing new shipbuilding orders in recent months and said the downturn in the sector has been exacerbated by the terrorist attacks on the United States.
The sharp decline in Harland and Wolff's fortunes mirrors the downturn in the shipbuilding industry throughout the UK.
BAE Systems, for example, plans to axe more than 400 workers this year at its yards in Govan and Scotstoun.
But while shipbuilding in Northern Ireland appears doomed, the Scottish Executive is determined to try to safeguard some of its industry on the Clyde for the future.
