A decision to allow the owner of P&O Ferries to be involved in a major new U.K. infrastructure project has sparked outrage, after the firm laid off 800 workers without notice in 2022.

BBC News reports that DP World has been approved to co-run the Thames Freeport in Essex in the Southeast of England, as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's freeports plan. The Trades Union Congress said it was an "appalling decision," enabling other employers "to act with impunity." The government said the new freeport would "help to grow the economy."

P&O Ferries laid off hundreds of seafarers in March 2022 and replaced them with foreign agency workers paid less than the minimum wage. The move sparked outrage and led to calls for P&O's boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign. A week afterwards, Hebblethwaite admitted to MPs that the decision had broken employment law. 

At the time, the U.K. government called the workers' treatment "wholly unacceptable." Grant Shapps, who was then transport secretary, said the law would be changed to stop companies firing staff on-the-spot. The government also cancelled a contract with P&O Ferries in May, a decision it said was in response to the sackings.

But on March 27, the government confirmed it had recently approved plans for the Thames Freeport, and that it would be run by a partnership between DP World, carmaker Ford and Forth Ports.

The port will receive £25 million ($307 million) in government funding, as it works to attract £4.6bn more in public and private investment.