Carnival cruise lines is laying off some of its crew members, a week after announcing it's selling some of its fleet

• Carnival Cruise Line is laying off some of its crew members, its second round of layoffs this year.
• A report over the weekend said the number was in the thousands, but Carnival said that number wasn't accurate and it was only cutting a "small number" of positions.
• "Carnival Cruise Line has eliminated a small number of shipboard leadership positions directly tied to a reduction of four ships in our fleet that has already been announced and implemented," said Carnival's Chief Communications Officer, who called the report "fabricated."

Carnival Cruises is laying off some of its crew members.

"Carnival Cruise Line has eliminated a small number of shipboard leadership positions directly tied to a reduction of four ships in our fleet that has already been announced and implemented," Chris Chiames, Chief Communications Officer, told Business Insider in an emailed statement.

Chiames said a report over the weekend from cruise website Cruise Law News, which cited sources and internal documents it obtained that pegged the number of layoffs in the thousands, was incorrect and "fabricated."

Chiames said the layoffs did not number in the thousands.

Captains and executive chefs were among some of the staffers who were laid off or saw their contracts ended, according to Cruise Law News.

The layoffs are the latest cost-cutting measures the company is taking this year as the cruise industry grapples with the pandemic, which has hobbled the industry during the traditionally busy vacation season.

Some of the impacted crew members were sent home earlier this year "on vacation" or were awaiting assignment and had avoided seeking any other employment as they were told they may need to return if things changed, according to the report. "Why didn't Carnival notify me in April so I could find another job? It abandoned me and my family with two small kids without money," a former staffer told the cruise website.

Carnival employs around 33,000 employees, according to Cruise Law News.

The CDC is currently enforcing a no-sail order until at least the end of this month, which prohibits any cruise ships that are able to carry more than 250 passengers from setting sail.

This is the second round of layoffs for the company this year after they halted operations in March as the coronavirus pandemic closed ports around the world.

In May, Business Insider previously reported that the cruise line would be conducting "layoffs, furloughs, and pay cuts," in order to stay afloat while the entire industry is at a standstill. Its parent company, Carnival Corporation, announced in September plans to sell 18 ships from its global fleet, which includes the four sold by Carnival Cruise Line tied to the most recent layoffs.