Electric Boat Changes Processes; Lays Off 96 Carpenters

General Dynamics/Electric Boat (abbreviated as Electric Boat), the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy, has announced that it will be cutting 96 carpenter positions before the end of 2009. The company spokesman Robert Hamilton is citing a change in process as the reason for the layoffs. A hull coating applied to submarines is now being applied earlier in the manufacturing process. The result is that more repair work is going to Navy shipyards and the jobs are no longer necessary.

The layoffs are scheduled to take place December 4. Nearly half of those affected were hired for short-term work within the past year.

The carpenters being let go will receive 60-day notices.

Electric Boat is located in southeastern Connecticut and employs around 10,000 people.