Oil and gas engineering and construction group Acergy has confirmed it is consolidating the management of offshore workers into one crewing subsidiary based in Singapore.
The change will make no difference to UK employees, but save the Norwegian group a substantial sum in national insurance (NI) contributions it will no longer have to pay.
A spokeswoman for Acergy said the change involved a couple of hundred people working in its UK offshore operations. She added: “The overwhelming majority of our offshore personnel are already employed out of Singapore and it is intended that a number of people from Acergy will transfer to our international crewing company.
“This move is designed to improve the management of our global offshore workforce and will ensure we continue to best serve the needs of our clients in what is an extremely competitive market.
“This transfer is being conducted in full consultation with both employee and trade union representatives, and in accordance with the applicable UK legislation protecting employment rights and conditions.”
None of the onshore staff employed by Acergy in the UK is involved in this change and the group said it remained committed to employing a sizeable workforce in the north-east.
Acergy and fellow subsea engineering and construction firm Subsea 7 are moving closer to a merger, which will create a group worth more than £3.6billion.
The two firms already have big operations at Westhill, near Aberdeen.
Subsea 7 has nearly 1,000 people working out of its north-east site, while Acergy has more than 500.
Gordon Robertson, a senior tax manager with Aberdeen-based chartered accountant Anderson Anderson and Brown, said the loss of employer NI contributions would have no effect on the offshore workers’ entitlement to benefits.
Recommended for you
