Shipbuilder Damen said it will eliminate about 225 of its 4,000 jobs in the Netherlands over the next 12 to 18 months as part of a reorganisation intended to make the company simpler and more efficient. The company expects a significant share of the positions to disappear through natural attrition, but does not rule out compulsory redundancies.

Damen said the reorganisation was unrelated to the earlier cancellation of an order for six German naval frigates, which had been cancelled because of rising costs and delays. It did not say whether jobs at its Vlissingen site would be affected.