Nearly 90 staff at the Port of Dover have had their jobs transferred to other companies today (Wednesday), and another 34 have taken voluntary redundancy.

The services affected, mainly ship mooring, trailer handling and link span operation, will now be undertaken by either P&O Ferries, or by OCS, the labour supply company.

“The withdrawal of the port from directly providing these services and the introduction of competition within this market, now provides choice and flexibility to our customers and enables them to more directly control the cost of their landside provision in these difficult times,” said the port'c chief executive Bob Goldfield.

This move by the Board is part of a long running change programme, intended to position the port for its further expansion, with the eventual construction of a second RoRo terminal in the western docks area and to improve business and operational efficiency.

“The Port of Dover is facing just the same challenges as any other business in these difficult times. We intend to continue introducing necessary change that will maintain our robust financial position and enhance the services we provide to our customers”.

In January, the port's security-related services transferred to G4S.