By Catherine N. Pillas
AMERICAN cruise company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) is planning to nearly triple its Filipino work force to 30,000 in five years to complement its aggressive fleet expansion plan. It currently employs 11,000 Filipino workers.
“To support the growth of the ships, we’re going to expand the population base of our employees. Also, we will now be doing here on shore more functions that were done in ships,” Paul T. Parker, chief human resources officer for RCCL, said in a news conference on Tuesday.
Total employee count of the cruise company stands at 65,000 workers today.
This will mean Filipinos will account for almost a third of the company’s employees, which are designated across all positions, from engineering to hospitality services.
This goal stands parallel to the company’s fleet growth; Royal Caribbean Cruises has ordered nine ships to complement its existing 43. Moreover, achieving the increase in manpower entails an investment in a manning facility here in the Philippines, where the company’s back-office operations will be sourced from.
Other functions that will be carried out in the firm’s new facility is supply-chain management and information-technology services.
Officials declined to disclose its investment in local operations.
Listed RCCL owns six cruise brands, which includes Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamura Club Cruises and CDF Croiseres de France. It is part owner of TUI Cruises through a 50-percent joint venture.
Across the six brands, the cruise company calls on 490 destinations, including the Philippines.
Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of RCCL, said that, while port calls to Manila have been scarce in the past few years, they hope to increase stops to the Philippine capital as the cruise industry continues to see strong demand in servicing destinations in Asia.