Layoffs at BIW as DDG 1000 design work drops

Effective January 21, 2011, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., will be laying off around 130 workers.

Local media quote BIW President Jeff Geiger as saying that the layoffs at the  shipyard are due to an anticipated reduction in design work for the DDG 1000, the next-generation destroyer for the U.S. Navy.

Mr. Geiger added that the layoffs reflect BIW’s need to adjust staffing levels in response to the budget environment its sole customer — the Navy — finds itself in.

“Our customer is buying fewer ships and is under severe budget pressure. Competition for those ships is intense and the need for us to be affordable has never been greater,” the Bangor Daily News reports Mr. Geiger as saying. “As difficult as today’s action is, I must act now to adjust resource levels to the available work and ensure we remain affordable and poised to compete and win future contracts.”

After the coming layoffs, the shipbuilder will employ some 5,700 workers.

January 7, 2010