P&O Ferries, which last year shed 800 workers in a highly controversial mass redundancy, is now looking at cutting 60 managerial UK posts with a further 60 being shifted into new roles.
The company said it was in consultation with trade unions about the proposed changes.
The GMB, however, has already stated its disappointment with the development.
A P&O Ferries spokesperson said the proposals were designed to put the operator on “a competitive, sustainable footing”. They added that the scheme would not affect operational colleagues below leadership level or any crew members aboard vessels.
A representative of the GMB union told the BBC said the company was letting down its staff again, adding that, given the company has taken delivery of new ferries for its Dover-Calais route, what should have been a turning point for the company had turned into a “nightmare” for workers.
Huge queues at Dover had added to the pressures on workers, who had “gone the extra mile over the past difficult weekend”, they added.
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Earlier this month, on the anniversary of P&O Ferries’ 800 sackings, the TUC and transport unions stated the government had failed to act as promised in response to the company’s unlawful redundancy processes and employment of overseas crews on salaries below the minimum wage.
In the weeks following the redundancies, government ministers promised action against DP World, P&O Ferries’ owner, but on Monday this week, the government confirmed it had approved plans for DP World to be one of three firms that would run the Thames Freeport.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said ministers should have “stripped the company of all its public contracts and severed commercial ties” after the P&O Ferries sackings.
“But the government has chosen instead to reward DP World with another bumper deal. This is giving a green light to other rogue employers to act with impunity.”
A spokesperson for Thames Freeport said that DP World and its partners had invested heavily in port and logistics infrastructure over the past decade.
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The government said the project would lead to “much needed” investment in the area.
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