Shipbuilder STX France said Norway's Viking River Cruises withdrew an order for two luxury cruise ships on Thursday, in a major blow to an already struggling industry, Expatica.com reports.
"This decision is bad news for STX France ... in particular for its employees as it will take months to cover this immediate shortfall in orders," the company said.
The order for two 230-metre-long vessels was made last December.
The deal was hailed as a much needed lifeline for France's struggling shipbuilding industry, with an expected four million man hours needed to build the vessels.
"This is a huge blow to all the employees, it is scandalous," said Joel Cadoret of the CGT union.
"We can't even defend our industry by guaranteeing orders," Cadoret added.
The Force Ouvriere union said in a statement the cancellation came after Viking River Cruises failed to secure financing for the order.
The firm, which won practically no orders in 2011, recently cut back working hours for May and June given low orders.
STX France is two thirds owned by a European subsidiary of South Korea's STX Shipbuilding and one third by the French state.
The firm employs 2,100 people and is responsible for another 4,000 jobs indirectly.
"This decision is bad news for STX France ... in particular for its employees as it will take months to cover this immediate shortfall in orders," the company said.
The order for two 230-metre-long vessels was made last December.
The deal was hailed as a much needed lifeline for France's struggling shipbuilding industry, with an expected four million man hours needed to build the vessels.
"This is a huge blow to all the employees, it is scandalous," said Joel Cadoret of the CGT union.
"We can't even defend our industry by guaranteeing orders," Cadoret added.
The Force Ouvriere union said in a statement the cancellation came after Viking River Cruises failed to secure financing for the order.
The firm, which won practically no orders in 2011, recently cut back working hours for May and June given low orders.
STX France is two thirds owned by a European subsidiary of South Korea's STX Shipbuilding and one third by the French state.
The firm employs 2,100 people and is responsible for another 4,000 jobs indirectly.