By Wasana Nadeeshani Sellahewa
(Commonwealth) _ According to fresh papers, the business that built the RRS Sir David Attenborough has lost money for the sixth year in a row. Cammell Laird, situated in Birkenhead, has reported a pre-tax loss of £4.4 million for the fiscal year ending April 2, 2022, compared to losses of £7.5 million the previous year. Cammell Laird’s turnover fell from £126.7m to £94.4m in the year, according to freshly filed data with Companies House.
The company stated its revenue dropped because it had two Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) boats in its shipyard for the most of the previous fiscal year and work on RRS Sir David Attenborough was “largely finished” over the previous 12 months. As a result of the completed redundancy procedure, the average number of workers employed by the firm decreased from 693 to 571 over the year. The process’s major goal was to ensure the continued employment of the surviving workers and to sustain the many hundreds of jobs that exist in the supply chain.
The organization intends to expand its apprenticeship program and provide crucial chances to local youth and adult apprentices, assisting in the development of critical skills needed to succeed. This is a critical element in ensuring that Cammell Laird has a staff that can accept and absorb future technologies. The subsequent decision was not taken lightly by the new management team. The corporation collaborated extensively with the unions, and no mandatory redundancies were necessary, with 146 people opting for voluntary redundancy.
It went on to say that in September 2022, it hired 42 additional apprentices and struck a compensation deal with the unions. The year ending 2 April 2022 saw the fifth straight year of losses; the majority of these were caused by the large new construction project, the RRS Sir David Attenborough,” according to a statement issued by the board. This was the third year of two 10-year contracts to assist the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), which were expected to produce £619 million in income when signed. However, these operations have been eclipsed by the company’s ongoing financial success. The company is working to get back to business and has achieved underlying profits in the current fiscal year. During the year, the corporation also worked on the RFA Tidesurge, the BAE Systems Dreadnought Submarine project, the HMS Dauntless, and the HMS Daring.
In October 2016, Cammell Laird began work on the RRS Sir David Attenborough, a Polar Research Vessel for the Natural Environment Research Council. Because of the Covid-19 outbreak, work was delayed, and “additional design and engineering issues” delayed the ceremonial handover. The business also worked on the RFA Tidesurge, BAE Systems’ Dreadnought Submarine project, HMS Dauntless, and HMS Daring throughout the year. Cammell Laird began work on the RRS Sir David Attenborough, a Natural Environment Research Council Polar Research Vessel, in October 2016. Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, work was delayed, and “additional design and engineering issues” mean that the actual handover will not take place until November 2020. Cammell Laird’s turnover fell from £126.7m to £94.4m in the year, according to freshly filed data with Companies House. The company stated its revenue dropped due to having two Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) boats in its shipyard for the most of the previous fiscal year and work on RRS Sir David Attenborough was “largely finished” over the previous 12 months. As a result of the completed redundancy procedure, the average number of workers employed by the firm decreased from 693 to 571 over the year.
