P&O Cruises and Cunard are moving forward with a new sales structure following a month-long consultation process.
The sales team is being increased by 30% to 46 people; however all roles within the team have changes and were open to internal and external candidates.
Alex White, vice president of sales for P&O Cruises and Cunard, said 40% of the roles had been filled by internal applicants. As a result of the consultation, 10 members of the sales team have been made redundant.
White said: “We have concluded the 30-day consultation period and after careful consideration we will be making the transition to the new structure. The transition period will take up to two months.
“A number of candidates internally have been successful and have roles within the new structure, but sadly there have been some redundancies.
“We are currently amid a rigorous application process for the remaining vacancies.”
The changes to the sales team are the biggest restructure the lines have seen for more than a decade. The new structure sees the creation of three teams – national partnerships, managed by Nathaniel Sherborne, retail partnerships led by Shane Riley and sales operations headed by Natasha Richardson.
The national and retail partnerships team will also have field-based staff offering support, while Richardson’s team will oversee investment in training and sales support.
The new structure includes the introduction of dedicated resources for Cunard for the first time under Carnival and an expanded field sales team with greater focus on building up regional business.