The Norwegian operations of Wärtsila, a major supplier to the oil and offshore industry, announced Thursday it was cutting so many jobs that as many as 160 employees will be laid off or forced into retirement. The dramatic fall in oil prices was blamed once again.
Wärtsila’s job cuts at its operations at Heiane on Stord and in Trondheim come just a day after Rolls-Royce Marine announced it was shutting down a plant in Romsdal, a move likely to leave 200 people out of work.
“This is a result of the low oil price and that a large portion of the market we operate in is now being greatly reduced,” said Sveining Hansen, managing director at Wärtsila. Low activity and tough competition for the few contracts out to bid forced Wärtsila into the cuts, most of which will be made at Stord, where half the staff will lose their jobs.
Wärtsila currently has around 700 employees in Norway. “I think the employees understand why this is happening,” Hansen told state broadcaster NRK. “But they of course are sad about it. We all are.”
newsinenglish.no staff
