Five hundred Aberdeen employees of helicopter company Bristow face an anxious wait before discovering if their jobs are safe.
The company said yesterday it was seeing a decline in the demand for its oil and gas helicopter services, primarily in the exploration and development sector.
The North Sea oil business has been hit by the recession, lower oil prices and the credit crunch and Bristow Helicopters is the latest firm to announce belt-tightening moves.
Bristow has revealed cost-reduction moves, which include an undisclosed number of staff cuts in Aberdeen plus management salaries being frozen.
Bristow managing director Richard Burman said: “We regret the need to reduce our staffing, but have to take action to protect the business in these difficult economic circumstances while ensuring that the safety of our operations is not compromised.
“These actions are expected to help ensure we maintain our financial strength for the long-term benefit of all our stakeholders, including customers, employees and investors.
“We will consult with the trade unions, the Bristow staff council and affected staff, and do all that we can to help our staff through this difficult period.
“Where possible, we will seek to achieve the necessary reductions in staffing through voluntary redundancy.”
The firm employs around 500 people at its European headquarters in Aberdeen, 100 in Redhill in Surrey and 240 in Norway. Consultations started yesterday about proposed staff reductions in these locations.
Bristow said the consultations would last a minimum of 30 days and it would seek ways to minimise compulsory redundancies.
“The number and location of the staff affected will not be known until the completion of the staffing review and the consultation process,” added Bristow.
Staff at the site last night said they had not been “officially told” if and when jobs would be cut.
A 34-year-old man, who did not want to be named, said: “I am appalled, I have worked with Bristow for almost 10 years and I would expect to be told straight away what is happening.
“We are left hanging here, do we apply for new jobs now or wait and be out of a job and then have to live off nothing until we find new jobs.
“I just hope I am lucky and get to keep my job.”
Despite yesterday’s news, Bristow is still going ahead with plans for a new European HQ and training academy in Aberdeen.
It emerged last month that the north-east division of a helicopter maintenance firm is to shed up to 60 out of 80 jobs. Heli-One, at Aberdeen Airport, is a subsidiary of Canadian firm CHC.
The European helicopter operation of CHC in Aberdeen is also looking at reducing its costs, although a spokesman could not say last night how many jobs might go among its 200-plus workforce in the city.
Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future development manager Rita Stephen said about the Bristow announcement: “The global recession, coupled with a falling oil price, has put pressure on firms to cut costs and, inevitably, jobs.
“However, we must ensure that the long-term future of the North Sea is not threatened by a lack of investment and the UK Government must take steps to prevent this.
“The North Sea is a high- cost, mature province but recent activity and investment have prolonged its life and underlined the future potential.
“To sustain this in the medium to long term we need continued investment in new and existing assets, infrastructure, skills and technology. Companies need to have the confidence to invest.”
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Geoff Runcie said: “We fully anticipate that every business, irrespective of sector, will be assessing how they position and sustain themselves for the period of uncertainty ahead.
“Keeping key resources and people in place though will be an important priority.”