Dozens of jobs to go at huge Hartlepool firm

Forty five posts will go at Heerema, based in Greenland Road in the town.

But that’s just part of a bigger cutback which will see Heerema shed 450 jobs out of 775 positions, in what bosses have described as a reorganisation of the company.

Heerema Fabrication Group sites in Holland, Poland and Hartlepool will all be affected.

Poor market conditions in the oil and gas industry are being blamed;.

So is increasing competition, the combination of price pressure and unfavourable contractual conditions in the wind energy market, and the somber prospects for the near future.

Bosses admitted that “compulsory redundancies will unfortunately be unavoidable.”

A statement said: “The job losses will affect the head office in Zwijndrecht (Netherlands), next to the HFG yards in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Poland.

“The management has already informed the employees of the situation and requested advice from the works council of HFG Netherlands. HFG is absolutely committed to supporting all employees who are made redundant as best as it can, and has entered into discussions with the trade unions about a severance scheme.”

Chief executive Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven said: “We fully realize just how devastating the planned reorganization will be for many of our colleagues who have made such an important contribution to our company.

“We will do our utmost to support them throughout this difficult period. At the same time we are convinced that these steps are absolutely essential for the stability of HFG and to guarantee its continuity.”

The plans will allow HFG to continue operations at all its locations in Vlissingen, Zwijndrecht, Hartlepool and Opole in Poland).

Mr van Brouwershaven added: “The expectation is that, due to growing energy requirements in the long term, the number of projects in the market will increase again in the future. Until that time we will do everything in our power to maintain as much employment as possible.”