Meyer Turku Announces 450 Permanent Layoffs

Posted on 29 April, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

A cruise ship under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland. Photo: Meyer Turku

HELSINKI, April 28 (Reuters) – German shipyard Meyer Werft’s Finnish subsidiary on Tuesday started statutory talks to lay off up to 450 of its roughly 2,000 employees because of a hit to business from the coronavirus pandemic.

The shipyard, in Turku on Finland’s west coast, had initially started talks over temporary layoffs but said the market situation had now forced it to look for permanent cuts.

“These negotiations will include the permanent layoff of 450 people and another 900 are affected by other measures. These include temporary layoffs of different length, work time adjustments and other arrangements,” the company said in a statement.

Instead of ramping-up from one to two large ships delivered per year until 2023, the assumption is now that the Turku yard will build just one large cruise ship per year, it added.

“The corona pandemic has changed the situation unexpectedly and totally. We are facing the fact that the corona-caused pause in cruising requires to stretch the order book,” said Meyer Turku Chief Executive Jan Meyer. (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Mark Potter)

Nearly 150 Total Coronavirus Cases Confirmed on Cruise Ship in Japan

Posted on 28 April, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

An aerial view shows Italian cruise ship Costa Atlantica in Nagasaki, southern Japan April 21, 2020. Kyodo/via REUTERS

Nearly 150 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed among crew members of an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan after health authorities finished testing everyone on board, an official said on Saturday.

The Nagasaki prefecture official said 57 more crew had tested positive, bringing the total infections on board the Costa Atlantica to 148, roughly one-quarter of the vessel’s 623 crew members.

Authorities began testing after one crew member tested positive for the virus earlier this week. No passengers are on board the vessel, which has been docked in Nagasaki in southwestern Japan since February for repairs and maintenance after the pandemic prevented scheduled repairs in China.

The official told a news conference that the prefecture was discussing with the national government how to handle a large number of positive infections on the ship.

He added that there was no change in plans to send those testing negative to their home nations as soon as possible.

The infection cluster on board the vessel comes as hospitals are running out of beds in some parts of Japan, where the national tally of virus cases has risen above 13,000. Some 350 people have died. Nagasaki, excluding the ship figures, has seen a relatively low number of 17 infections and one death.

Of those infected on board the Costa Atlantica, only one crew member has been admitted to hospital, while others remain onboard, having shown slight or no symptoms.

Nagasaki authorities had quarantined the vessel on arrival and ordered its crew not to venture beyond the quay except for hospital visits.

But prefecture officials said earlier this week that some of the crew had departed without their knowledge, and sought detailed information on their movements.

The cruise ship infections follow a similar incident earlier this year when more than 700 passengers and crew tested positive for the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Yokohama. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Chris Gallagher; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ros Russell)

Boeing deal for Embraer collapses

Posted on 27 April, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Coronavirus to Further Delay Boeing 737 MAX Return Date | The ...

The proposed $4.2 billion sales of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to Boeing has collapsed, according to reports.

Boeing was reported to have ended talks due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the grounding of its 737 Max fleet, but Embraer has threatened to sue.

The Brazilian firm accused Boeing of “manufactured false claims” and said that it has “wrongfully terminated” the deal.

“We believe Boeing has engaged in a systematic pattern of delay and repeated violations of the (deal), because of its unwillingness to complete the transaction in light of its own financial condition and 737 Max and other business and reputational problems.”

Boeing, which is expected to be granted a bailout by the US government, said it “exercised its rights to terminate after Embraer did not satisfy the necessary conditions”.