Odefjell lay off 189 workers to avoid bankruptcy
Bulk chemicals transportation and storage group Odefjell is seeking permission to lay off 189 workers in the Netherlands to save its Dutch operations from bankruptcy, English-language news site DutchNews.nl reports.
The company shut down its storage tank operations in Rotterdam because of health and safety violations, and it now says the layoffs are necessary because all its main clients have cancelled their contracts.
Last month, Odefjell announced a temporary shutdown of its Odefjell Terminals in Rotterdam to "initiate immediately safety upgrades."
It said it planned to gradually restart most of its capacity within six months, and that it had also started cost cutting initiatives including plans for a workforce reduction.
Odefjell is based in Norway and has operations in more than a dozen countries, along with a fleet of about 100 ships with a total capacity of about 2.75 DWT, according to its website.