Olympic security film fears $77 mln loss

PanARMENIAN.Net - British security firm G4S said Friday, July 13 it expects losses of up to $77 million after the government had to deploy extra troops for the Olympics because the company failed to provide enough guards, AFP reported.

The firm, one of the world's biggest security companies, said it fully accepted responsibility for the blunder, which it blamed on difficulties in training, vetting and accreditation.

"G4S accepts its responsibility for the additional cost of the increased military deployment resulting from the shortfall in workforce delivery," it said in a statement.

The company said it was "also incurring other significant costs as it endeavours to meet the contract challenges".

"Whilst it is not possible to gauge the precise financial impact, it is estimated that the company will incur a loss on the contract in the range of £35m to £50m ($54 million-$77 million, 44 million-63 million euros) all of which will fall in the current financial year," it added.

The British government said on Thursday that it would be deploying an extra 3,500 troops for the London Games, which begin on July 27, because of the shortfall in security guards provided by G4S.

It brings the total number of service personnel drafted in to guard the Games to 17,000, part of a total force of 40,000 which will also include police, security guards and volunteers.

British-based G4S has more than 650,000 employees worldwide, according to its website.