THE axing of a historic ferry route has resulted in a logistics company being forced to cut a number of jobs.

DSV Road Ltd will be making a number of driving and office staff redundant due to the imminent closure of the Harwich to Esbjerg crossing in September which will mean a dramatic reduction in the amount of freight arriving in the town.

Staff at the West Dock Road depot in Parkeston were informed of the situation last week and 19 members of staff have been announced as at risk.

Managing director Jesper Hansen said: “The forthcoming closure will force us to re-route the current freight volumes on this corridor.

“We are the market leader for the transportation of freight between Denmark and the United Kingdom and we are keen to ensure we continue to provide the same level of service to our customers.

“We are sorry the jobs of some our highly valued and loyal staff are under threat but it is an unfortunate reality forced upon us by the closure of the ferry route.

“On a more positive note we are pleased to confirm DSV Road Ltd recognises Harwich International Port is still a gateway to the UK and we will be maintaining presence and operational activity there.

“Our full focus will now be on finalising the redundancy process in a respectful manner to our current employees and ensuring a seamless re-routing of the Danish traffic to the satisfaction of our customers.”