Up to 90 staff could lose their jobs at Plymouth’s luxury boat maker Princess Yachts after the manufacturer struggled to build enough boats. The company is due to start consultations with workers and their representatives next week.

The people affected are all office-based business support staff or management, across a number of departments including some based in the firm’s Newport Street head quarters. No shop floor manufacturing workers, the bulk of the company’s 3,000-strong workforce, are included.

Princess Yachts said it means fewer than 3% of the total workforce is affected. It said the restructure of parts of the business is vital to build better resilience against future market or global challenges and create a “leaner and more agile organisation”.

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The company said the restructure will ensure it remains sustainable after it was hit by industry-wide supply issues. It has been reported that this has meant it can’t build boats, and therefore sell them, as quickly as it would like.

Last year, Plymouth’s Princess Yachts insisted its future remains bright despite posting a £69m pre-tax loss and blaming inflation and supply chain issues. It is also now stressing it remains commercially strong. A spokesperson said: “From a sales point of view we are among the strongest, if not the strongest, in the industry.”

Will Green, Princess Yachts chief executive, said: “This restructure comes after an extensive business review as we look to improve efficiencies and strengthen our business operations. While we remain commercially strong with a healthy order book, we have not been immune to the industry -wide supply issues, and our ability to meet demand has suffered significantly as a result.

“Making any changes that directly affect people’s roles is always difficult and we have worked hard to ensure this disruption is kept to a minimum. But we have a responsibility to all our staff to ensure we have a profitable and sustainable business that is able to withstand

any future headwinds. I am confident that with the plans we now have in place, together with what remains to be one of the strongest product offerings in the industry, we will have that resilience for the long-term future of the business”.

Last year, Princess Yachts stressed it had orders to manufacture more than £750m of vessels. The Stonehouse-headquartered firm had received deposits for these boats and said the work would stretch through 2025 and into 2026.

The company was taken over by New York-based KPS Capital Partners in March 2023. KPS injected a significant amount of cash into the company to help unlock some of the supply chain and capacity issues. It also approved a multi-million pound investment into the expansion of the firm’s South Yard production facility.

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