By
Alex Smith |
Carnival Corporation is to take additional actions to strengthen its liquidity position during the extended pause to operations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with measures including layoffs, furloughs, salary cuts and reduced working hours.
Carnival Corporation was the first operator to stop services for some of its brands, with all of its brands pausing by 13 May. A financing effort last month secured an additional $6.4 billion in liquidity. However, the cruise company will now implement a combination of layoffs, furloughs, reduced work hours and salary reductions across the company, including senior management. The company says that these measures will conserve hundreds of millions of dollars and strengthen its financial position.
“Taking these extremely difficult employee actions involving our highly dedicated workforce is a very tough thing to do,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary, given the current low level of guest operations, to further endure this pause. We care deeply about all our employees and understanding the impact this is having on so many strengthens our resolve to do everything we can to return to operations when the time is right.”
Carnival continues to pay commissions to its travel agent partners on cancelled cruises and is working to repatriate thousands of its crew members stuck on its ships to their home countries, chartering flights and rerouting ships to ports that they would not have otherwise sailed to. The cruise company is also working with governments, regulatory agencies, and health experts around the world to develop protocols to address Covid-19 when guest operations resume.
"We also want to thank our guests for their many thoughtful notes and overall outpouring of support,” said Donald. “It's also encouraging to note that the majority of guests affected by our schedule changes want to sail with us at a later date, with fewer than 38 per cent requesting refunds to date. We plan to stagger fleet re-entry to optimise demand and operating performance over time.”