BELFAST SHIPBUILDER HARLAND and Wolff has announced the business is set to move into administration.
The firm said between 50-60 immediate redundancies are expected but said that staff employed at its four shipyards are not affected.
Harland and Wolff, which famously built the Titanic, has four shipyards – one in Belfast, two in Scotland (Methil on the Firth of Forth and Arnish on the Isle of Lewis) and one in England (Appledore in north Devon).
It is the second time the business has been placed in administration in five years.
The administration process will be confined to the holding company, Harland & Wolff Group Holdings PLC, and the operational companies which run the yards are expected to continue trading.
A company statement said: “A full review of all group holdings commenced in July and has concluded that H&W Group Holdings PLC is insolvent on a balance sheet basis as per …