The U.S. shipbuilding industry, which has just vigorously promoted the goal of achieving revival, has turned around and started laying off workers.
On May 30, an unexpected news leak revealed that Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), the largest shipyard in the U.S., announced it would place approximately 2% (471) of its salaried employees without paying wages.
The shipyard confirmed the layoffs in a statement to the media, saying: “After a careful review of our salaried workforce and business needs, we have laid off 471 salaried shipbuilding workers at Newport News Shipbuilding. This decision is not one we make lightly given the impact it has on the employees affected. However, we are taking this step to increase accountability and efficiency and improve overall performance to meet our current and future commitments to the U.S. Navy.”
Salaried employees refer to employees with a fixed salary, and the shipyard does not pay overtime.
According to the earning results previously released by Newport News Shipbuilding’s parent company HII, Newport News Shipbuilding’s revenue in the first quarter fell by 2.6% ($38 million), due to lower sales of aircraft carriers and naval nuclear power support services, but the lower revenue was partially offset by higher sales of submarine projects.
It is understood that the furlough will affect engineers and other salaried employees at Newport News Shipbuilding, and is currently expected to last up to five months. A company spokesperson explained that the furlough is a temporary status of no work and no pay, “not a termination or reassignment of employees.”
According to media reports, affected employees were informed of the decision in an email received on Friday and were told that the decision would take effect from Monday.
Newport News Shipyard is the largest shipyard in the United States and the only shipyard in the United States capable of designing and building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The shipyard has about 26,000 employees and has recently attracted much attention for the first time to build two Ford-class aircraft carriers at the same time.
The layoffs at Newport News Shipyard are in stark contrast to the United States’ recent efforts to promote the revitalization of the shipbuilding industry. On April 9, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order authorizing government agencies to develop plans to revitalize the domestic maritime industry within a maximum of seven months, while instructing the “Department of Government Efficiency” to investigate why the US Navy is slow to build ships. Earlier, Trump also said in a media interview that “we will invest a lot of money in shipbuilding”, and U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro has repeatedly called on companies in overseas allied countries to increase investment in U.S. shipyards, hoping to enhance the US shipbuilding capacity.
However, the reality is that the U.S. shipbuilding industry is plagued by numerous problems. The layoffs at Newport News Shipbuilding are precisely a reflection of the operational pressures it faces. Although the U.S. government has actively expressed its commitment to revitalizing the shipbuilding industry, shipbuilding enterprises still struggle to improve efficiency and control costs. Under the existing system, the possibility of the U.S. shipbuilding industry achieving true revitalization remains minimal.