Layoffs, contract news create double whammy for BIW
whammy for BIW
news@TimesRecord.Com
09/29/2008
BATH — Bath Iron Works spokesman Jim DeMartini confirmed late Friday that the shipyard plans to lay off 90 workers Oct. 10, a list that includes 40 electricians, 35 preservation technicians and 15 welders.
U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, responded to the news in a statement Friday.
"I will continue to work with the company, the workers, the Navy, the rest of the Maine delegation and others in Congress to make sure that BIW has the workload it needs to sustain the work force and protect this strategically important shipyard and the men and women who make Bath built, best built," he said.
The layoff announcement came on the heels of the news that BIW missed out on a Coast Guard contract it sought, as the Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyard announced it had won the deal to design and build up to 34 cutters for the service. Bath Iron Works was considered a finalist in the competition for the Coast Guard work, which could be worth up to $1.5 billion over six to eight years.
In May, when it was announced that BIW was a finalist for the contract, Navy analyst Jay Korman said the 160-foot-long Coast Guard boats could open doors to the small ship market. Korman, who watches the Navy and shipbuilding for the Washington D.C.-based consulting firm The Avascent Group, noted the stark difference between the cutters and BIW's usual products, 500-foot-long destroyers.
Not all news was bad for the shipyard over the weekend, however. On Saturday, the Senate, as expected, approved a continuing resolution that includes fiscal year 2009 appropriations of $1.5 billion for a new DDG-1000 destroyer and $200 million for additional DDG-51 modernization. The Senate approval came just three days after the House gave those same appropriations the nod.
"This week, I discussed the DDG-1000 with both Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and with Defense Secretary Robert Gates," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a Saturday statement. "I have been assured of the Pentagon's continued support for the program and for Bath Iron Works. I will continue to work with the Department of Defense to ensure that the Navy gets the ships that it needs, while maintaining a workload sufficient to keep the skilled men and women of BIW engaged in building the finest ships in the fleet."
news@TimesRecord.Com
09/29/2008
BATH — Bath Iron Works spokesman Jim DeMartini confirmed late Friday that the shipyard plans to lay off 90 workers Oct. 10, a list that includes 40 electricians, 35 preservation technicians and 15 welders.
U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, responded to the news in a statement Friday.
"I will continue to work with the company, the workers, the Navy, the rest of the Maine delegation and others in Congress to make sure that BIW has the workload it needs to sustain the work force and protect this strategically important shipyard and the men and women who make Bath built, best built," he said.
The layoff announcement came on the heels of the news that BIW missed out on a Coast Guard contract it sought, as the Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyard announced it had won the deal to design and build up to 34 cutters for the service. Bath Iron Works was considered a finalist in the competition for the Coast Guard work, which could be worth up to $1.5 billion over six to eight years.
In May, when it was announced that BIW was a finalist for the contract, Navy analyst Jay Korman said the 160-foot-long Coast Guard boats could open doors to the small ship market. Korman, who watches the Navy and shipbuilding for the Washington D.C.-based consulting firm The Avascent Group, noted the stark difference between the cutters and BIW's usual products, 500-foot-long destroyers.
Not all news was bad for the shipyard over the weekend, however. On Saturday, the Senate, as expected, approved a continuing resolution that includes fiscal year 2009 appropriations of $1.5 billion for a new DDG-1000 destroyer and $200 million for additional DDG-51 modernization. The Senate approval came just three days after the House gave those same appropriations the nod.
"This week, I discussed the DDG-1000 with both Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and with Defense Secretary Robert Gates," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a Saturday statement. "I have been assured of the Pentagon's continued support for the program and for Bath Iron Works. I will continue to work with the Department of Defense to ensure that the Navy gets the ships that it needs, while maintaining a workload sufficient to keep the skilled men and women of BIW engaged in building the finest ships in the fleet."
Labels: Bath Iron Works, layoffs, Maine
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