Carnival announces layoffs, salary reductions to weather Covid-19

Carnival on Thursday announced layoffs, furloughs, reduced workweeks and salary reductions across the company as it looks to further strengthen liquidity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cruise operator did not provide any specifics, other than to say that the pay cuts include senior management.

The company, which owns P&O Cruises and Cunard, said the moves will contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in cash conservation on an annualised basis.

Carnival said that since pausing its guest cruise operations in early March due to the pandemic, workforce changes were largely placed on hold, "even in the face of no meaningful revenue, to forestall the financial impact on its employees while still meeting its fiscal responsibilities - deferring employee actions beyond that of many others in similar situations during this pandemic".

President and chief executive officer Arnold Donald said: "Taking these extremely difficult employee actions involving our highly dedicated workforce is a very tough thing to do. Unfortunately, it's necessary, given the current low level of guest operations and to further endure this pause.

Donald said it was "encouraging to note" that the majority of Carnival’s guests affected by schedule changes want to sail with the company at a later date, with fewer than 38% requesting refunds to date.

"Our booking trends for the first half of 2021, which remain within historical ranges, demonstrate the resilience of our brands and the strength of our loyal recurring customer base, of which 66% are repeat cruisers," the company said.