Ninety employees of yacht builder Heesen Yachts from Oss are in danger of losing their jobs. FNV reported this on Friday. The union insists on a decent arrangement for these employees. “The employer does not make money available to agree on a good social plan for employees who are forced to be dismissed,” says Nurettin Altundal, director of FNV Metaal and former SP councilor in Oss.
Heesen Yachts employs around a thousand people, of whom approximately five hundred are permanent employees. In April, the company, which makes luxury yachts, was taken over by billionaire Laurens Last from Tilburg. He decided to take a new course by working more customer-oriented and cost-efficient.
And that also means that heads will roll. “Not all of those ninety people will be fired. A number will be moved internally but will have to travel further, for example,” Altundal explains. “But there will also be forced layoffs, but how many is not yet clear.”
No reasonable severance pay
Trade union FNV is not happy with the way the Osse company is dealing with this. According to Altundal, Heesen Yachts will have a record turnover of 209 million euros in 2024, but money for a good arrangement will not be released. “The employer adheres to the statutory minimum compensation and does not want to agree on a reasonable severance payment.”
There will soon be a members meeting of the trade unions FNV and CNV with the members to discuss the situation with the employees. “We already know that they do not agree with this lousy proposal. We will listen carefully to what next steps they want,” concludes FNV member Altundal. No one at Heesen Yachts was available to respond on Friday.
Richest Dutch people
In April, Frans Heesen, founder of Heesen Yachts, died at the age of 78. The company was founded in 1978 as Heesen Shipyards by Frans. In 2020, Frans was still in the Quote 500 with a capital of 165 million euros. The current boss of the company is not inferior to him because this year Laurens Last is also in the list of the richest Dutch people. His fortune is estimated at 1 billion euros.
In recent decades, Heesen Yachts has sold more than 200 luxury yachts. The yachts therefore have a hefty price tag. At the end of March this year, Rijkswaterstaat allowed three luxury, brand new yachts from the company to sail through a broken lock at Lith. This was done out of fear of a claim from Heesen Yachts.
In 2023, the company delivered a 67-meter superyacht. The price tag? About 100 million euros. The luxury ship Sparta has three decks and one on the large aft deck is a swimming pool and a large wellness area. Superyacht Galactica also attracted a lot of attention in 2022. The ship then had to turn around several times on the Maas because it could not pass under a bridge.