LONDON (AP) — Unions were set to protest at British ports Friday after major ferry operator P&O Ferries fired 800 U.K. crew members to replace them with cheaper contract staff.

The British government expressed outrage at the mass firings — conducted by Zoom message — but said it could do little to reverse them. Government minister James Heappey said “P&O has behaved appallingly,” but he did not believe the company’s actions were illegal.

“Ultimately, it is not something the government can stop P&O from doing,” he told the BBC. “Now, the focus will be on supporting those who have lost their jobs.”

P&O said it had no choice but to cut costs after the coronavirus pandemic hammered its finances, leading it to post a 100 million pound ($132 million) loss last year. The ferry operator, a unit of Dubai-government owned logistics giant DP World, said its survival was “dependent on making swift and significant changes now.’’

The company canceled ferry crossings on routes linking England to Ireland, Northern Ireland the Netherlands and France, including the Dover-Calais route that carries a large chunk of U.K.-Europe passengers and freight. The government said the suspension could last a week to 10 days.

The opposition Labour Party demanded Britain's Conservative government suspend DP World’s contracts and licenses and claw back the 4.3 million pounds ($5.6 million) it gave the company in emergency funding during the pandemic.

Some crew members initially refused to leave their vessels after being told Thursday that they were being fired, and unions planned to protest Friday at ports including Dover and Liverpool.

Two unions representing crew members, Nautilus International and RMT, said they were preparing legal action against the company.

“This is clearly illegal,” Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson said. “It’s a dark day in the shipping industry.”