The aircraft carrier Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) shown as its dry dock area is flooded, Oct. 29, 2019. U.S. Navy Photo
More than 300 salaried employees at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia have been informed they will be laid off as the nation’s leading defense shipbuilder reshapes its workforce.
Newport New Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, America’s largest military shipbuilder, is the only shipyard in the United States capable of building and servicing the nation’s fleet of aircraft carriers. It is also one of two yards tasked with designing and building the Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines.
The layoffs were announced on Friday in a note to employees by Newport News Shipbuilding’s CEO Jennifer Boykin.
The layoffs will impact a total of 314 salaried employees, plus an additional 119 managers who will be demoted to lower positions.
Boykin said the changes will more evenly distribute management and reshape production and support ratios.
The changes mark the first workforce reduction in five years and comes after a thorough assessment of NNS’s business, Boykin said.
All impacted employees have been notified. Severance and benefits as well as transition assistance will be provided to assist those impacted.
“Our priority is for the well-being of our employees, and we understand the impact this layoff has on them and their families,” Boykin said in her message to NNS employees.
“It is important to stress that our future remains strong even in the midst of today’s news. We will continue hiring for specific, critical positions. While these are very difficult decisions, they are necessary cost controls to help ensure the future of our shipyard and the affordability of the ships we build,” she added.
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