Local labor leaders and New Hampshire’s congressional delegation are calling for exemptions for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s civilian employees as the Department of Defense appears to be preparing for mass layoffs.
The shipyard, local supporters say, is both a driving economic force in the region, as well as a lynchpin for national security, and should be spared from any cuts.
“We are the men and women who ensure that when our sailors go to sea, they do so with the best equipment, the strongest ships, and the full force of American industry behind them,” said Nathan Proper, chapter president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 3073, during a press conference Friday.
He said the Trump Administration was treating employees at the shipyard like “chess pieces” in a political game.
Last week, the shipyard posted an announcement on Facebook cancelling an upcoming job fair, and said that “as we seek to understand and prioritize resources, a temporary recruiting and hiring pause has been implemented for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.”
No other information about the hiring freeze has been released.
There are approximately 7,500 employees at the shipyard, including 2,900 New Hampshire residents, according to the Seacoast Shipyard Association, which advocates for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
In late February, the Pentagon announced that it would lay off up to 5,400 probationary workers nationally in a cost-cutting effort. According to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, there are 645 current shipyard employees who are under probationary status.
“I can’t imagine the stress, the anxiety, that those folks are feeling today, given the uncertainty,” said Shaheen.
The shipyard currently services nuclear powered attack submarines for the U.S. Navy, and is in the middle of a multi-year $1.8 billion dry dock expansion project.
“Granite Staters know that these ships didn’t build themselves, and they know that freedom belongs to the prepared, and to the brave,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan, who joined Sen. Shaheen and 1st District Congressman Chris Pappas at the event, which was held in a storage facility in Portsmouth’s Prescott Park, with views of the shipyard behind the podium.
Labor leaders spoke Friday about the emotional toll the possible layoffs are taking on rank-and-file employees.
“Our workforce has been terrorized by reckless threats of firings, layoffs, repercussions for actions that have nothing to do with them,” said Alana Schaeffer, president of the Shipyard’s Metal Trades Council. “Information as it comes has been slow, it’s inconsistent, and it’s causing chaos, frustration and confusion.”
