Fugro Implements Painful Measures

Fugro revealed Monday that it is minimizing the hire of short-term charters and implementing a hiring and salary freeze and measures to reduce its workforce.

The company said the “painful” measures are necessary as a result of the dual impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the low oil price environment.

“Our priorities in this complex environment are clear; preserve the health and wellbeing of our people and those of other stakeholders, ensure business continuity and reduce costs and capex in order to protect liquidity and profitability,” Mark Heine, Fugro’s CEO, said in a company statement. 

“Although our backlog is still solid, our business operations will be impacted, especially given the combination of the pandemic with the recent sharp decline in the oil price. We are continuously analyzing scenarios and are implementing mitigating measures,” he added.

Fugro, which has withdrawn its earlier guidance for 2020, said it is assessing all available possibilities for government support to bridge this “difficult period”. The company highlighted that current liquidity is “good” with over $432 million (EUR 400 million) available in cash and committed facilities.

Netherlands-headquartered Fugro describes itself as a leading geo-data specialist. The business employs around 10,000 staff in 61 countries, according to its website, which shows that its workforce is spread across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Fugro is not the first company to look at salaries and headcount following the outbreak of the pandemic and the most recent oil price crash. Last week, Wood revealed that it was implementing headcount reductions, temporary furloughing, unpaid leave and operational salary reductions. Polarcus also revealed last week that it was reducing personnel cost onshore and offshore by around $6.5 million through a combination of redundancies and a reduction in base salary for six months.

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