Carnival UK consulting staff on potential job cuts

The Southampton-based cruise giant said the Covid-19 pandemic had not only affected the holidays of its guests but had also impacted "every part of our business; our future deployment; the guest experience; our supply chain and our people on-ship and on-shore".

Although no figure has been placed on the number of jobs that may be affected, the Southern Daily Echo reported "staff had been told 450 positions were at risk".

A Carnival spokesperson said: "Our priority is to treat everyone with fairness and respect and to have open and honest conversations. These changes, whilst very difficult, are to ensure the future sustainability of our business.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has not only affected the holidays of our guests but it has also impacted every part of our business; our future deployment; the guest experience; our supply chain and our people on ship and on shore.

"During our pause in operations we have tried to create as much certainty and stability as possible for our staff in Southampton and crew on board our ships.

"Unfortunately though and like many businesses, as Covid-19 has continued to impact our way of life it is necessary to make changes to our organisation to build a stable platform for the time we phase our ships back into service and for future growth."