The financially strapped shipbuilder Meyer Werft has secured what might be a dream come true: contracts to build four cruise ships for the Disney Cruise Line.
The Disney ships, to be completed by 2031, are the largest order in the company's nearly 230-year-old history, it said. The shipyard, in Papenburg near the North Sea, did not say how much the creator of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Cinderella is paying for the boats.
The first ship is to be delivered in 2027. Details on the design, names and routes are currently in development.
"These new orders are a further strong and positive signal for the future of jobs in Papenburg for the works council and all colleagues," said works council chairman Andreas Hensen.
Multibillion euro deficit = 340 jobs to be cut
Meyer Werft is in the most severe crisis since its founder, Willm Rolf Meyer, started the shipyard in 1795. It must raise more than €2.7 billion ($2.9 billion) to finance new ship construction at the Papenburg shipyard in northern Germany by the end of 2027.
The contracts for the cruise ships were partly concluded before the coronavirus pandemic and do not provide for adjustments for the sharply increased energy and raw material prices since then. Around 80% of the purchase price is only received by the shipyard upon delivery, so it has to finance the construction through loans in the interim.
At the beginning of July, the management reached an agreement with the works council and the IG Metall union on a restructuring concept. Accordingly, 340 of the more than 3,000 jobs are to be cut. In addition, a supervisory board and a group works council are to be established, and the company headquarters moved back to Germany from Luxembourg. State aid from the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony are also being discussed.
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A single purchase
