NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Freeport Container Port has reversed its decision to lay off 20 employees following an intervention by Prime Minister Philip Davis, the Ministry of Grand Bahama said in a statement yesterday.
The statement did not provide any further details.
Labour Director Robert Farquharson confirmed the lay-offs to Eyewitness News on Wednesday indicating the terminations were legal due to the facility recording a 37 percent drop-off in business.
Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister and Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell said: “We cannot afford for the city of Freeport to fail. It’s too big to fail and so anything which causes anything for Freeport to not succeed we have to be energetic to deal with it.”
Opposition Shadow Finance Minister and East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson noted that the Opposition had also been concerned regarding the reported lay-offs, noting that Grand Bahama could not afford to lose one job.
“Any loss of jobs on Grand Bahama at this time is a tragedy,” he noted.
The Freeport Container Port began operations in 1997 and is the largest transshipment terminal in the region. The Freeport Container Port is operated by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Limited.
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