Damen feels the commodities price pinch

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has announced a reorganisation at three Dutch yards within its group. Staff members of Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam, Damen Shiprepair Van Brink and Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen were informed that the overall number of staff will be reduced by approximately 150 employees.

DSC has been forced to take these measures due to continued adverse market conditions. Large-scale market fluctuations are common for the ship repair sector – within which the Damen Shipyards Group has been active for over 40 years. The strategy of DSC focusses on diversification as well as developing new product/market combinations. However, according to the company, the oil and gas market has decreased in such a way that has left DSC unable to fill the void with other activities.

In a company statement Damen has stated that ‘the market expectations for the short and medium term are not positive. There is no recovery in sight for commodity prices in general and oil and gas prices in particular and the resulting reduction in ship repair projects forces DSC to review its situation. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of this, is downsizing the number of permanent staff in all layers of the organisation, as well as reducing facility costs.’