Job fears as Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff sinks

Titanic ship maker Harland & Wolff has confirmed it will fall into administration for the second time in five years.

The Belfast-based group said a review had found that Harland & Wolff group, its holding company, was insolvent and administrators will be appointed later this week.

Harland & Wolff is best known for building the Titanic in Belfast and also runs the historic Appledore shipyard in Devon and two more sites in Scotland.

Towering: The giant yellow cranes at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast. The firm also runs the Appledore shipyard in Devon, as well two more sites in Scotland

But the 163-year-old firm has been scrambling for funding in recent months as it struggles to keep up with competitors and debt mounts.

A spokesman insisted yesterday that the vast majority of the 1,300 jobs across the company were safe but warned ‘a further reduction in headcount in our core activities may be necessary’.

Harland & Wolff revealed between 50 to 60 ‘non-core’ staff, mainly based in its London office, would be made redundant immediately and ‘non-core operations,’ including its Scilly Ferries, marine services and businesses in the United States, will be wound down or sold off.

And in a further blow, the company’s listing on Aim, London’s junior stock market, will also be cancelled, wiping out shareholders. 

However, the Ministry of Defence played down concerns that any government contracts were under threat.

Harland & Wolff joined forces with Spain’s Navantia in 2019 to win a £1.6billion contract to build three Royal Navy support ships at the Belfast yard.

There had been fears that if Harland & Wolff fell into administration it would mean Royal Navy ships would then be built in Spain. 

That would be the first time in British naval history a warship was built by a foreign yard.

But a government spokesman said the ‘process’ will not affect the group’s delivery of Ministry of Defence contracts.

Unions said the Government must step in to protect jobs.

It is understood that as many as 20 firms have expressed interest in buying parts of the business in a sales process. 

Sky News reported that London-listed defence contractor Babcock was considering a bid. The firm declined to comment.