Jobs under threat at luxury boat builder

Princess Yachts blamed economic and market conditions for a drop in wholesale orders

Up to 40 jobs could be at risk at a luxury boat builder after lower than expected wholesale orders.

Princess Yachts, which is based in Plymouth, Devon, said it was entering a consultation process that may lead to a "small number of redundancies".

Trade union Unite said up to 40 jobs including managerial positions were at risk, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The firm, which blamed economic and market conditions for the drop in orders, has also cut 240 jobs in its production department over the past year.

Princess Yachts said it was taking steps to ensure the company "remains strong, sustainable and resilient for the long-term future", and the decision had not been taken lightly.

The company had recently seen a softening in forward orders from its global distributor network, despite a rise in retail sales this year, it said.

"This reflects wider economic and market conditions that continue to influence discretionary spending and business confidence," it said.

"In response, we are taking prudent steps to align our operations with current and projected demand."

It said the potential cuts would represent less than 2% of its workforce of 2,889 and would affect salaried and management positions.

'Aligning costs'

The company made a £23m loss in 2023 but made a profit of £4.9m last year.

Mark Richards, from trade union Unite, said the announcement was not a surprise as the company had to adjust its boatbuilding programme for 2026 and it was "aligning the costs".

He said he hoped some of the staff affected would be retained and return to the shop floor.

"We are trying to reduce the number, we think there will be about 40 affected," he said.