FERRY COMPANY STENA Line is set to lay off all but seven of its staff in Ireland, according to a union.

Of the 46 people currently employed by Stena at its Dun Laoghaire base, 39 have been identified for compulsory redundancy, a Siptu official said. Around one third of those layoffs will take place on Wednesday, with the rest slated for early in the new year.

Siptu official Christy McQuillan told TheJournal.ie that the plan was a “horrific wipeout’ of the company’s workers. The union believes that Stena plans to outsource some of the jobs, with McQuillan saying the move had “all the hallmarks” of an “outsourcing agenda”.

The employees have been asked to sign off on a redundancy agreement tomorrow, McQuillan said. He said the union had been to conciliation talks with management at the Labour Relations Commission, but to no avail.

Siptu has now referred the situation to the Labour Court and is hoping for a swift ruling to stay the company’s hand, McQuillan said.

“This is very, very serious for the workers,” he said.

The company also runs services from Dublin Port, but this is currently being operated by another company. According to RTÉ, Stena has said that there are no vacancies available at the Dublin Port operation.

Stena Line could not be reached for comment this evening.