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SS News Daily for 07DEC05
Since 12-07-05
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Plan calls for 313 ships by 2020, aides say
By David S. Cloud, The New York Times, 5 December 2005
Northrop Grumman Newport News could build hulls for a small craft used in covert operations.
By Peter Dujardin, Daily Press, 7 Dec 05
By Journalist 1st Class Elizabeth St. John, Naval Media Center Fleet Support Detachment Norfolk Public Affairs
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, 7 DEC 05
By Peter Dujardin, Daily Press, 7 Dec 05
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press (Foster’s Daily Democrat), 6 Dec 05
As many as 2,400 jobs to be cut; shipyard cites loss of work
By Anthony Cronin, New London Day, 7 Dec 05
But for many, layoffs at Groton shipyard not totally unexpected
By Ted Mannn and Gladys Alcedo, New London Day, 7 Dec 05
By Andrea L. Stape and Mark Arsenault, Providence Journal, 7 Dec 05
From Bernama.com, 7 Dec 05
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U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 2nd
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Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Dec. 6, 2005) - The sun sets next to the USS Arizona Memorial on the eve of the 64th commemoration of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ceremony, which will include remarks by keynote speaker Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen, is held annually to honor those who served during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
Plan calls for 313 ships by 2020, aides say
By David S. Cloud, The New York Times, 5 December 2005
The U.S. Navy wants to increase the size of its fleet to 313 ships by 2020, reversing years of decline in naval shipbuilding and adding dozens of new warships designed to defeat emerging adversaries, according to senior Defense Department officials.
The plan by Admiral Michael Mullen, who took over as chief of naval operations last summer, envisions a major new shipbuilding program that would increase the current 281-ship fleet by 32 vessels and cost more than $13 billion a year, $3 billion more than the current annual shipbuilding budget, the officials said.
While increasing the fleet size is popular with key members of Congress, the blueprint faces an array of obstacles, including questions about whether it is affordable with fast-rising shipbuilding costs and whether the mix of vessels is the right one to deal with emerging threats, like China's expanding navy.
"We are at a crisis in shipbuilding," said a senior navy official. "If we don't start building this up next year and the next year and the next year we won't have the force we need." The officials would not agree to be identified because the plan has not been made public or described to members of Congress.
The U.S. Navy reached its Cold War peak of 568 warships in 1987 and has been shrinking steadily since then. Mullen's proposal would reverse that, going as high as 325 ships over the next decade, because of overlap between retiring old vessels and bringing new ones on line, before peaking at 313 between 2015 and 2020.
"The navy appears to be grappling with the need to balance funding for supporting its role in the global war on terrorism against those for meeting a potential challenge from modernized Chinese maritime military forces," said Ronald O'Rourke, a naval analyst with the Congressional Research Service, an arm of the Library of Congress.
The plan has not been formally adopted by the Bush administration yet, though officials said it had been reviewed by senior civilians in the Pentagon as part of a larger strategic review of all military programs. The plan is not expected to change much, if at all, before the review is made public next February along with the Bush administration fiscal year 2007 budget proposal to Congress, the officials said.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, which is home to major shipyards, endorsed the navy proposal and called on President George W. Bush to fund the plan in the budget next year.
"Military requirements should drive the budget, not the other way around," she said. "I hope that the navy's requirement for a fleet of 313 ships will be matched with adequate funding in the president's budget to achieve that goal over time."
But Defense Department officials acknowledged that, with pressures mounting on the defense budget and the overall navy budget not likely to increase, their plans could come apart unless they are able to trim costs and find savings. The navy is planning to squeeze dollars from personnel costs and other non-shipbuilding accounts, as well as ask shipyards to hold down costs on the vessels, even if it means removing certain capabilities. Navy officials acknowledge as well that the plan could be stretched out or modified because of budget pressure or unanticipated threats in coming years.
Mullen is in some ways paying for the priorities of his predecessor, Admiral Vern Clark, who improved pay and benefits during his tenure as the service's senior officer but also acceded to trimming the navy's budget in an unusual sacrifice to help pay the U.S. Army's bills in Iraq.
Now Mullen is seeking a fleet that will give the navy a greater role in counterterrorism and humanitarian operations that have emerged at least as importantly as major combat operations.
The plan calls for building 55 small, fast-moving vessels called littoral combat ships that are being designed to allow the navy to operate in shallow coastal areas where mines and even bombings by terrorists in small boats are a growing threat. At under $300 million each, the littoral combat ship is relatively cheap.
Navy officials say they have scaled back their goals for building a new destroyer, the DD(X), a ship whose major use would be supporting major combat operations ashore. The navy once wanted 23 to 30 DD(X) vessels, but Mullen has decided on only seven, the navy official said. The reduction is due in part to the ship's spiraling cost, which is now estimated at $2 billion to $3 billion per ship.
The plan calls for building 19 CG(X), a new cruiser designed for missile defense. But the first of those ships is not expected to be completed until 2017, the navy official said. In addition, the more than 50 attack submarines in the current fleet would shrink to 48, the navy official said. Some navy officials have called for keeping 55 or more attacks submarines.
Northrop Grumman Newport News could build hulls for a small craft used in covert operations.
By Peter Dujardin, Daily Press, 7 Dec 05
NEWPORT NEWS -- Northrop Grumman Newport News could build up to five hulls for a new set of miniature submarines designed to carry U.S. Navy SEALs on covert missions, taking over work from a Baltimore-based sister company that a government report said has struggled to build the boats.
But before any new work heads south, the U.S. Special Operations Command still has to work out serious problems with the first boat - built at a Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems plant in Annapolis, Md. - and decide if it's worth buying the next five.
Costs on the first sub have nearly tripled, to $446 million, from original estimates 10 years ago, the U.S. Special Operations Command said.
The Newport News shipyard, one of the nation's two builders of nuclear-powered subs, lost its original bid to build the mini-subs, called the Advanced SEAL Delivery System, when it sought the job more than a decade ago.
The job was awarded to the Westinghouse Electronics, based in Baltimore.
But much of the work has wended its way here anyway. A report in 2003 by Congress' investigative arm slammed the Westinghouse program, which became a Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems program when Northrop bought Westinghouse in 1996. In late 2001, when Northrop bought Newport News Shipbuilding, the Electronic Systems division began to tap into Newport News' sub expertise. That picked up in recent years, and the work on the hull - the sub's main structure - is a stark culmination in the shift.
The Special Operations Command desperately wants a mini-submarine.
Larger subs can deploy SEALs through hatches. The mini-subs can move the SEALs around in a climate-controlled environment, allowing the SEALs to get in and out of the mini-sub as needed.
"This allows us to clandestinely insert and extract SEALs from denied locations," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Steven Mavica, spokesman with the Special Operations Command. "The requirement for a small fleet of safe and reliable special purpose submarines remains a critical requirement for special operations."
The miniature subs are 65 feet in length, eight feet across, weigh 55 tons, have a range of more than 100 nautical miles and carry "more than five" people, Mavica said. They ride piggyback atop larger submarines.
But the program to build them has struggled. There were early noise issues, problems with the battery system and tail fatigue, Mavica said.
This past August, during testing and evaluation on the first boat, those on board felt a sudden vibration and heard a sharp noise as it headed back to port, Mavica said. That turned out to be an internal engine problem that led to the decision to hold off on later boats, Mavica said.
"We have to make sure that we have a boat that can safely complete its missions," Mavica said. "So we're focusing on improving the reliability of hull one."
The price tag on the mini-sub is also up dramatically. The cost of the first vessel, expected 10 years ago to hit $164 million when adjusted for inflation, is now at $446 million and counting, Mavica said. The estimate for the first six boats is at $2 billion, up from $527 million, a government report said. By comparison, a single Virginia-class submarine costs $2.6 billion.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has criticized the mini-sub program, citing key problems that should have been discovered during development but were learned about only in testing. The program at the time was also six years behind schedule, the report added.
"The capabilities required of the boat outstripped the developer's resources in terms of technical knowledge, time and money," the report said. "The program has suffered from insufficient management attention on the part of both the government and contractor, which led to missed opportunities for righting the program as it proceeded."
Jim Carlsen, director of oceanic and naval systems at Northrop's Electronics Systems division, said much of the cost increases came when the government changed requirements for the project, leading the boat to grow in length and weight by 25 percent.
He said, however, that he's happy to have Newport News on board. "They're the nation's premier submarine builder, and they're a key part of the team," Carlsen said.
If and when the Special Operations Command gives the go ahead on hulls two through six, they will be built in Newport News, Carlsen said, then sent back to Maryland for outfitting. Work on the hulls could conceivably begin at the Newport News yard by 2008, employing up to 150 workers here, Carlsen said.
General Dynamics Electric Boat, based in Groton, Conn., which just announced the layoffs of up to 2,400 workers Tuesday, said it would be glad to participate in the mini-sub work. Connecticut lawmakers have questioned why Electric Boat hasn't been asked to participate.
By Journalist 1st Class Elizabeth St. John, Naval Media Center Fleet Support Detachment Norfolk Public Affairs
NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The Navy began a two-week exercise Nov. 28 with navies from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain to improve the way it communicates between its ships, shore facilities and its coalition partners.
“Trident Warrior is the Navy’s major FORCEnet experimentation venue,” stated Trident Warrior ’05 Director Cmdr. Tony Parrillo. “It is experimentation with computers and networks to help build greater warfare capabilities for the Navy.”
According to Capt. Sinclair Harris, commander, Amphibious Squadron 4, FORCEnet is what ties all of the military components together.
“FORCEnet is the network with which all the submarines, planes, Marines on the ground, ships at sea and coalition partners are able to transmit and receive information via e-mail or chat or links of different natures,” he stated.
The Trident Warrior process takes approximately 12 months, according to Naval Network Warfare Command. Members of the Trident Warrior team look at what technology will be needed in the upcoming years. Then they look at the gap between what is needed and where the Navy currently stands, and they are able to set the experiment priorities.
Harris explained the significance of Trident Warrior.
“Communications is everything,” Harris said. “It’s the ability to pass information down to our units that are supporting us and are working in our group, and up to our bosses so that they have a feeling of assuredness that we’re doing the right thing in a timely fashion, and we’re answering their questions, as well.”
Canada sees great opportunities in training with the U.S. Navy.
“What is really important is our operators are beginning to get the appreciation and the understanding of the advances that technology brings,” said Cmdr. Paul Dempsey, commanding officer, HMCS Montreal (FFH 336). “Ships are extremely limited at sea due to bandwidth in exchanging information, and these technologies are going to enable us to take better advantage of the bandwidth we have. We can bring capability to the mission at a faster rate.”
By experimenting with new technologies, the Navy will have greater war fighting capabilities and increased communications with its coalition partners.
“In the foreseeable future, the U.S. Navy will never be fighting individually," Parrillo said. "We’ll always be fighting as part of a coalition, so it’s nice working with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. They bring a lot of capability to the fight."
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press, 7 DEC 05
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Connecticut's congressional delegation is calling for an accelerated submarine construction plan after Electric Boat announced it would eliminate up to 2,400 jobs next year and could slash its work force in half if business doesn't improve.
"I've made plain to the Navy that they need to immediately rethink their timetables so that we can increase submarine production now and not in 2008," U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, DConn., said.
In Tuesday's announcement, Electric Boat President John Casey said the decision to cut 20 percent of the work force next year was a "despicable task" but said the future of the company is at stake. Casey and other submarine advocates have pressed the Navy to boost production from one to two ships a year.
Projections show the nation's submarine fleet dwindling from the mid-50s to as low as the 30s if the building trend doesn't change. That would mean more bad news for Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corp. that employs 11,800 people.
Though the company has contracts to build nine submarines by 2014, it projects a possible work force of about 6,000 people if new business doesn't arrive. Unlike past contracting slumps, there is no next-generation submarine being designed to offer hope of a future boom.
"The long-term answer to this problem is to begin building two submarines per year and to accelerate the start of the design phase of this nation's next submarine," U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said.
Most jobs will be cut at the Connecticut shipyard in Groton, but between 500 and 600 will be eliminated from its Rhode Island facility. It's too late to include a new submarine in next year's budget but U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a Republican whose district includes Electric Boat, said it's critical that the 2007 budget include at least $600 million for a Virginia-class submarine.
"One boat every year, it's just not enough to sustain the work force," said John Levangie, a 38-year EB employee who delivers mail and is the shop steward for office employees.
Casey had hoped maintenance work would help support the company at least until this spring, when the Defense Department releases its projections on the size of the submarine fleet and add some certainty to Electric Boat building plans.
Recently, however, the Navy informed EB that submarine repair will go to publicly operated shipyards. The Pentagon tried unsuccessfully to close the shipyard in Kittery, Maine, leaving the Navy with more shipbuilding and repair capacity than it expected.
"They feel they can adequately accomplish all the repair work that's available and they will no longer require or desire the services of Electric Boat," Casey said.
There are four publicly run shipyards in the country. Kittery is the closest and commanders there were already talking about hiring hundreds of new workers.
The Navy's decision means Electric Boat, which frequently repairs and upgrades the ships it builds, will not be able to bid on that work. The last two repair projects the company is bidding on are the USS Miami and the USS Toledo.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Tuesday that she would fight the job cuts. She said she wrote a letter to Navy Secretary Gordon England saying it does not make sense to exclude EB from competing for contracts.
"I cannot fathom the decision-making in Washington, D.C.," Rell said. "I am disappointed. I am angry. And I am determined to do whatever we need to do to protect these jobs."
The governor said she would be sending state officials to EB to develop strategies for job protection and job growth. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., asked the Labor Department to offer emergency assistance to laid-off workers.
"This is disappointing news that could not come at a worse time of year for these workers," Reed said.
Electric Boat has seen dark times before. After the end of the Cold War, the company's work force fell to about 8,000 people. "I've been through it before," said John Lucy, a welder at EB who was laid off for five years and kept a side job driving a beer truck, just in case. "I'm not going to say I'm not nervous."
Casey said this round of layoffs is different. In the early 1990s, EB engineers were designing the Virginia class submarine, the ship that's in production now. That kept engineers employed.
"This time we're not going to have that luxury. It's going to be slightly more difficult this time," he said.
General Dynamics shares closed down 43 cents to $112.57 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $97.59 to $122.27.
By Peter Dujardin, Daily Press, 7 Dec 05
Like General Dynamics' Electric Boat, based in Groton, Conn., Northrop Grumman Newport News also builds Virginia-class submarines, and has also been pressing Congress to award money for two submarines a year.
But Northrop Grumman Newport News spokeswoman Jennifer Dellapenta said Tuesday the shipyard "does not anticipate any impact" in the Virginia-class program as a result of the Navy's plans to continue at the rate of one sub a year for the time being.
Like Electric Boat, Newport News is also involved in sub repair and maintenance. Dellapenta declined to say whether the Navy has told the shipyard or Virginia lawmakers, as they told lawmakers in Connecticut, that all such repair work would now be done at Navy yards.
"I don't have anything to add to our original statement that we don't anticipate any impact," Dellapenta said.
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press (Foster’s Daily Democrat), 6 Dec 05
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Submarine builder Electric Boat said Tuesday it would eliminate up to 2,400 jobs by the end of next year, citing the nation's declining submarine fleet and the Navy's decision to steer repair work to public shipyards that survived the base closure process.
President John Casey said the decision to cut 20 percent of his work force was a "despicable task" but said the future of the company is at stake. Most jobs will be cut at the Connecticut shipyard in Groton, but between 500 and 600 will be eliminated from its Rhode Island facility.
Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corp., employs 11,800 people. The exact number of layoffs is unclear.
The job cuts come at an uncertain time for Electric Boat. Though the company has contracts to build nine submarines by 2014, the future of the submarine fleet is unclear. Maintenance work is dwindling and, for the first time, the next generation of submarines is not being designed, Casey said.
Submarine advocates have been pressing the Navy to boost production from about one to two ships a year. Projections show the nation's submarine fleet dwindling from the mid 50s to as low as the 30s, but the Pentagon isn't expected to release its official numbers until this spring.
"One boat every year, it's just not enough to sustain the work force," said John Levangie, a 38-year employee who delivers mail and is the shop steward for office employees.
The company survived a scare when the Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted this summer not to close the nearby submarine base in Groton. The sub base and private shipyard work together on many projects.
Casey said the Navy recently informed him that it would direct future submarine repair work to publicly operated shipyards. The Pentagon tried unsuccessfully to close the shipyard in Kittery, Maine, leaving the Navy with more shipbuilding and repair capacity than it expected.
"They feel they can adequately accomplish all the repair work that's available and they will no longer require or desire the services of Electric Boat," Casey said.
There are four publicly run shipyards in the country. Kittery is the closest and commanders there were already talking about hiring hundreds of new workers.
The Navy's decision means Electric Boat, which frequently repairs and upgrades the ships it builds, will not be able to bid on that work. The last two repair projects the company is bidding on are the USS Miami and the USS Toledo.
"It's important for us all to bear in mind that these reductions are the result of pressure on the Navy's shipbuilding budget," Casey said in a memo to company employees. "Everyone affected by the layoffs deserves to be treated with dignity and respect through their last day at Electric Boat."
U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a Republican whose district includes Electric Boat, said it's critical that the 2007 budget include at least $600 million for a Virginia-class submarine.
"This is disappointing news that could not come at a worse time of year for these workers," said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who asked the Department of Labor to offer emergency assistance to laid-off workers.
Electric Boat has seen dark times before. After the end of the Cold War, the company's work force fell to about 8,000 people.
"I've been through it before," said John Lucy, a welder at EB who was laid off for five years and kept a side job driving a beer truck, just in case. "I'm not going to say I'm not nervous."
Casey said this round of layoffs is different. In the early 1990s, EB engineers were designing the Virginia class submarine, the ship that's in production now. That kept engineers employed.
"This time we're not going to have that luxury. It's goin trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where they have traded in a 52-week range of $97.59 to $122.27.
As many as 2,400 jobs to be cut; shipyard cites loss of work
By Anthony Cronin, New London Day, 7 Dec 05
Groton -- Facing a dearth of submarine contracts and a decline in maintenance and repair work, the Electric Boat shipyard said Tuesday that it would eliminate up to 20 percent of its work force by the end of next year, affecting as many as 2,400 employees across the board -- from its salaried employees to its designers and shipyard workers.
EB President John Casey said the Navy's current production rate of one submarine a year, divided between EB and Northrop Grumman's Newport News shipyard in Virginia, combined with the Navy's decision to shift all maintenance and repair work to its government-owned shipyards necessitated the cutbacks.
In addition, much of the design work at the shipyard -- from its Virginia-class subs to its conversion of former Ohio-class ballistic missile subs to guided missile subs that can carry large complements of special forces -- is nearing completion, meaning there also will be less work within its design ranks.
Casey said that if production levels keep falling, the company could lose as much as 50 percent of its current work force within three years. But he cautioned that much could happen during that time in terms of revised production schedules and budget appropriations that could eliminate the need for such drastic downsizing.
“I know this is tough news,” Casey said in announcing the job reductions to a packed legislative breakfast meeting at the Groton shipyard. He said the decision to reduce the company's work force of 11,400 by between 1,900 and 2,400 workers by the end of next year was a difficult one for EB's management and its workers.
“The only thing worse than this is if I don't do it,” he said. “If I don't, this organization will fail.”
The layoffs would affect union members of both the Marine Draftsmen's Association and the Metal Trades Council as well as salaried workers.
News of the cutbacks at one of the state's top defense contractors sent shudders through the state Capitol and the Connecticut and Rhode Island congressional delegations. Besides the 7,500 employed at EB's sprawling Groton shipyard, the company also employs about 2,000 at its Quonset Point, R.I., shipyard, making it one of the Ocean State's top employers.
EB officials said the job losses through the end of 2006 would be realized through attrition, retirements and layoffs, adding that the actual number could be less than 2,400 depending on the number of older workers who leave the company through attrition or retirement. But if those workers don't elect to voluntarily leave the company, more layoffs would be needed and that could affect the younger, less senior members of the work force.
While EB is now building the equivalent of half a submarine a year, it delivered 32 submarines to the Navy during the 1980s and 18 submarines during the 1990s. So far this decade, EB has delivered two submarines to the Navy: the USS Jimmy Carter, the third of the three-sub Seawolf class, and the USS Virginia, the first of the new Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines.
In addition, the Navy's decision to shift maintenance, repair and overhaul work from private yards such as EB to its four naval shipyards around the country -- in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Puget Sound, Wash.; Norfolk, Va.; and Kittery, Maine -- diverts work that could have cushioned the blow as EB awaits for a hoped-for increase in the Navy's production schedule to two submarines a year.
EB officials said they will bid on upcoming maintenance and overhaul work on the USS Toledo and the USS Miami submarines, but that similar work beyond that would be funneled to the Navy-owned shipyards.
“If we're awarded those (contracts), that's it,” Casey said.
Kenneth DelaCruz, who heads the Metal Trades Council at the shipyard, said his workers have been through numerous rounds of layoffs, especially during the 1990s, none of which made Tuesday's announcement any easier to take.
“We really dread this,” DelaCruz said. “This is all very difficult.”
DelaCruz said he will ask for incentives from EB for those workers who voluntarily leave the company, such as ensuring sound health-care benefits will be available. He also will call for additional job training and job assistance programs for those workers who lose their shipyard work.
Word of the looming cutbacks at Electric Boat is bad news for southeastern Connecticut's economy, which already is facing a downsizing at one of its other leading employers, Pfizer Inc., which is going through a global multibillion-dollar restructuring that already has involved job reductions at its Groton and New London campuses. While Pfizer officials refuse to provide firm figures on the number of local layoffs, there have been job reductions planned for its manufacturing plant in Groton as well as ensuing layoffs at its research and development operations. Pfizer's worldwide R&D operations are based in New London.
The region can look to the Mashantucket Pequots' massive $700 million expansion, which the tribe said will bring 2,300 new jobs to the region by the summer of 2008, bringing its total work force to some 14,000, making it this region's largest employer and one of the largest in the state. In addition, Foxwoods officials said the three-year expansion project also will bring in an estimated 1,800 construction jobs.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell expressed anger and frustration with Tuesday's news of the EB cutbacks, saying the Navy's decision to pull the vital maintenance and repair work from the Groton shipyard makes no sense.
“I cannot fathom the decision-making in Washington, D.C.,” Rell said. “We won on the sub base and I intend to win on this one.”
Rell is sending several commissioners, including those from her labor and economic development agencies, along with work force and diversification experts, to EB to work with officials there on short- and long-term job-protection and job-growth efforts.
Rell also fired off a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England asking him to reconsider the decision to shift repair work to Navy-owned shipyards across the country. She said the move runs counter to this summer's winning argument for keeping the Groton sub base off the Pentagon's base-closing list -- that the sub base and EB have established a unique and irreplaceable synergy that is vital to national security.
U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, who attended the breakfast meeting with Connecticut and Rhode Island legislators and business leaders, said EB needs to ramp up to two submarines a year soon or the shipyard, and the nation, will lose valuable submarine-building skills that are hard to restore.
Simmons said he will work with the rest of the state's delegation to increase congressional funding for two submarines a year -- meaning EB would get the equivalent of one submarine each year -- as early as fiscal 2007 or 2008.
In addition, Simmons said he will continue to push for EB to win work on the Navy's troubled mini-submarine programs for Navy SEAL commandos as well as possible work with Taiwan building diesel submarines.
U.S. Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut Democrats, expressed dismay over the EB news, saying they are already pushing Navy officials to recognize the need for the Groton company to build more submarines for its long-term survival and national security.
“This is deeply distressing and troubling news,” Dodd said. “I have made it abundantly clear that our nation needs more submarines and not less.”
Dodd said he has told Navy officials that they need to rethink their timetables in terms of an increase in submarine production “now and not in 2008.” He said EB should be given as much maintenance and repair work as possible.
Both Dodd and Lieberman and Rhode Island senators Jack Reed, a Democrat, and Lincoln Chafee, a Republican, have meet with Adm. Michael Mullen, the new chief of naval operations, to urge that sub maintenance be continued at private shipyards, such as EB and stressing the immediate need to start building two Virginia-class submarines a year.
The Connecticut congressional delegation held a conference call Monday with several Navy admirals to discuss their concerns about EB's employment picture and the need to increase U.S. submarine production.
“The long-term answer to this problem is to begin building two submarines per year and to accelerate the start of the design phase of this nation's next submarine,” Lieberman said.
He said the Navy's current build rate for submarines, along with its decision to pull repair and overhaul work from the EB shipyard threatens national security.
Mullen has said he would consider increased production of the Virginia class if the yards could get the overall cost per sub to around $2 billion, rather than their current cost of about $2.4 billion. Casey told the legislative meeting Tuesday that his shipyard is committed to lowering the pricetag for the advanced Virginia class submarines.
Mullen is expected to meet in mid-December with top House and Senate leaders of both the Armed Services committees as well as the defense appropriations subcommittees to discus his top-to-bottom review of the Navy, which is part of the quadrennial defense review. Those results, which have already begun to slip out around Washington, are expected to be unveiled officially in February.
Washington, D.C., insiders have said that Mullen's long-term analysis of naval forces through 2020 calls for a buildup of the fleet to more than 300 vessels, about 30 more than the current 282, but also includes only 48 submarines rather than the 55 that many have been advocating.
But for many, layoffs at Groton shipyard not totally unexpected
By Ted Mannn and Gladys Alcedo, New London Day, 7 Dec 05
Groton- From the bartenders across Thames Street to the man ringing the Santa Claus bell for the company's Toys for Tots program, reactions to Electric Boat's impending job reductions were virtually uniform Tuesday: A shrug, an expression that said “I've seen this before,” and a brusque “no comment.”
As workers trickled out of the shipyard's gates at mid-afternoon, most seemed to agree that the news would mostly hit younger workers lacking seniority who would be most susceptible to layoffs.
Few seemed surprised that recent setbacks for the shipbuilder, including an overall slowdown in new submarine construction and the loss of an overhaul contract to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, had helped convince executives to trim back the work force.
“We are slowing down,” said Jim McVeigh, a nuclear specialist who has been at Electric Boat for more than 30 years. “We don't have that many contracts.”
“I think it's kind of been dangling in front of us,” said William Passero, a 32-year EB veteran. “We need to build more boats. Without that, they don't need us here.”
That has been a common refrain, even in victorious moments like the days after the federal Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission overturned the Pentagon's plan to close the Naval Submarine Base just up the river from EB.
When U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, joined state Sen. Cathy Cook, R-Mystic, to celebrate that victory here last August, they were met with heartfelt congratulations from workers - and a chorus of calls for more work, more boats.
Groton Town Manager Mark R. Oefinger said EB President John Casey had hinted at the potential for bad news a couple of weeks ago when he noted the importance of a governor's task force on economic diversification for southeastern Connecticut.
“It was pretty somber and sobering news,” Oefinger said of Tuesday's announcement. “It's a lot of jobs. EB is a major employer in the community and in the region. To lose that amount of jobs in a relatively short time will be destructive, if not catastrophic, for the employees involved and their families, and there will be a ripple effect.”
McVeigh and other long-time workers said they were not immediately concerned about their own livelihoods, but the demand for new work remains, especially for those most likely to be laid off.
“We need to get some more stinking contracts,” he said. “If you've been hired in the last two years, those guys are going to worry.”
Former Town Councilor Thomas J. Skrmetti, who retired as a principal engineer from Electric Boat in June after 30 years of service, tried to ease those worries by saying there will be other opportunities available for EB employees who lose their jobs.
“There is a whole big world out there other than EB where people can apply their skills and really contribute,” Skrmetti said. “There are other opportunities for them. There will be a lot of people who will be laid off who will have a strong technical background.”
Oefinger said the annual EB legislative breakfasts usually forecast six to seven years into the future and often highlight uncertainty on the horizon. But before, EB could count on the repair work from the Navy to transition the company from project to project.
“The graphs we saw this morning weren't all that different from what we saw last year and the year before,” he said. “There was always an uncertainty. The big surprise in my mind is it sounded like EB was notified by the Navy that they won't do any repair work.”
Some people, Oefinger said, wondered if the Navy's plan to eventually eliminate EB from maintenance and repair work on submarines was “payback time for EB's involvement” in the save-the-base effort. “It just seemed ironic that one of the main local arguments we made for the sub base is the synergy with EB and the cost-savings of maintaining and repairing boats,” he said.
Oefinger said he believes there will be talks behind the scenes to try to limit the job losses, but added that he wasn't “overly optimistic.”
The town and region have seen EB downsize before, local officials said, pointing to the 1990s. But unlike then, the town and region may be in a better position economically, given the growth at Pfizer Inc. and the two casinos.
“I think where we were is different now. At least we're talking about regionalization,” Oefinger said. “We had no organizational capacity on a regional basis in 1991 and 1992, and we now have that” with the Southeastern Connection Council of Governments and the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region.
Skrmetti said that if the layoffs at EB continue to erode expertise in submarine design, the impact would go beyond Connecticut and affect the entire country.
“They are the second largest taxpayer in Groton,” he said of EB. “It will be a major hit for the city, town and region, but to lose that submarine-design capability, which will be difficult to replace, will be bad for the country. They are fighting to keep the company alive but they need some help.”
By Andrea L. Stape and Mark Arsenault, Providence Journal, 7 Dec 05
NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Electric Boat said yesterday that it plans to eliminate 500 to 600 jobs at its Quonset Point plant in Rhode Island by the end of next year, part of a decision to cut up to 2,400 positions company-wide.
About 1,900 to 2,400 jobs will be cut, according to Jeff Swallow, a spokesman for Electric Boat. The majority of positions will be eliminated at the nuclear submarine maker's Groton, Conn., facility.
Facing the Navy's decision to move submarine repair work to Navy-operated shipyards and away from private contractors, the winding down of the Trident submarine conversion project, and the planned production of just one nuclear sub a year, Electric Boat needed to cut costs, said Swallow.
Some of the positions will be cut through attrition, but there will also be layoffs, said Swallow. Both hourly and salaried positions will be eliminated, in design, engineering and the trades -- such as welders and pipe fitters, said Swallow. The company expects the cuts to start in February or March, and to occur quarterly through 2006, he said.
Workers pour out of the main gate during a shift change yesterday at Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. The company plans to reduce its work force through layoffs and attrition, and to do so gradually through next year. The cuts could add up to more than a quarter of the company's Rhode Island work force.
Electric Boat, a division of defense contractor General Dynamics, has 11,800 employees, about 2,050 of them in the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown. The cuts could add up to more than a quarter of the company's Ocean State work force.
"This is a worst-case scenario. We're always looking for ways to get new business in here," Swallow said, adding that the company is looking to move 2007 and 2008 work into 2006 in an attempt to reduce the number of positions that need to be cut.
In Rhode Island, the cutbacks will be the first major layoffs for Electric Boat since the mid-1990s, said Swallow, and they were not expected.
Just last month, the company cut the ribbon on an $11.4-million, high-tech metal cutting and shaping facility at Quonset. Earlier this fall, the company held a job fair at Quonset to hire welders, sheet-metal workers, pipe fitters, machinists, ship fitters, painters and marine electricians.
"We had no inkling," said Michael McMahon, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. "On the positive side, Electric Boat continues to view Rhode Island as one of its strongest centers."
Sen. Jack Reed, who attended last month's ribbon cutting, yesterday called on the U.S. Department of Labor to provide emergency assistance to laid-off workers.
"This is disappointing news that could not come at a worse time of year for these workers," said Reed in a statement.
Michael Lopes, of Middletown, a pipe fitter, has worked for Electric Boat for 29 years. He said the company told employees about the job cuts yesterday. Though he is not worried about his own job, "It's sad we don't have the work to keep all these people employed," he said.
Electric Boat's employment level at Quonset has fluctuated considerably since the company arrived, in the mid-1970s. At its peak, in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, the company employed slightly more than 6,000 people at Quonset. That number shrank in the mid-1990s to about 900.
Paul Swanson, of Warwick, a machinist who has worked for Electric Boat for 24 years, said it's too soon to worry about people losing their jobs. "They're saying [cuts are coming] the end of next year," he said. That's a long time in the sub-building business, where job numbers rise and fall with Defense Department contracts, he said. The government could change its mind and demand more subs, he said.
Job loss at Electric Boat's Quonset facility was a major concern earlier this year, as the U.S. military went through a process to evaluate and close military bases. One military location feared to be on the closure list was New London, Conn. State officials feared the closing of the New London base would have affected Electric Boat's Groton facility, as well Quonset. The New London base was not on the closure list.
But as part of the base realignment process, the military also kept open the Portsmouth, N.H., naval shipyard, and decided to send submarine repair work to Navy facilities, rather than having private contractors, such as Electric Boat, bid on the repair work.
In addition to losing that repair work, Electric Boat is winding down the work it's been doing to convert four Trident submarines, said Swallow.
And the Navy is planning for the construction of only one nuclear-powered submarine a year through 2014. There has been intense lobbying in Washington by some defense consultants and advocates to produce two nuclear submarines a year, but the Navy thus far has committed to only one a year.
Considering the national defense picture, it isn't a surprise that Electric Boat is cutting jobs, said Daniel Goure, vice president and defense analyst at the Lexington Insitute, a think tank in Arlington, Va. The military has decided to add more surface ships to its Navy fleet to address terrorism concerns, rather than add more subs, said Goure.
"Unless we put our submarine acquisition [plan] on a more sound footing, there's no real prospect of jobs returning to Electric Boat," said Goure, who supports the production of two nuclear submarines a year.
Electric Boat has a contract to build 10 nuclear subs for the Navy, said Swallow. One, the Virginia, has already been completed and delivered. Six others have been funded, said Swallow, and the company is waiting for the other three to receive funding.
John Valenta, of Johnston, an Electric Boat welder, has been with the company for eight years. He's not worried about layoffs -- yet.
"Ever since I've been here, there's always been rumors about layoffs or what have you. I'm taking it day by day," he said.
From Bernama.com, 7 Dec 05
MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Bernama)-- India will get two Shchuka-B class nuclear submarines from Russia on lease and an Indian crew has already arrived here for training as part of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov deal, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, quoting local press Wednesday.
Two 'Shchuka-B', also known as Akula, are at different stages of construction since the collapse of Soviet Union and could be leased to India for ten years in estimated US$1.8 billion deal after their simultaneous completion.
Due to slippage in the indigenous Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project for the development of S-2 nuclear submarine, India is leasing the two submarines as part of the package deal on the acquisition of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
It said that about 200 Indian naval officers have arrived in Russia in October for a course at Russian nuclear submarine fleet's North-West training centre at Sosnovy Bor near St. Petersburg, the report quoted.
India earlier had received Charlie class K-43 nuclear submarine from ex-Soviet Union, which was known as INS Chakra, on lease.
It said at that time Indian crew did not have access to the reactor of INS Chakra, which was manned by the Soviet naval personnel.
The daily also said that Moscow is helping India in designing the nuclear reactor for the ATV, which resembles Russian submarine of Project 09710 'Samara' class (NATO code name Akula-II).