General Dynamics Loses Contract, Laysoff 165

Traditionally workers with more specialized skill sets have been a bit less prone to layoffs than the general work population. Not because their employers are any more loyal, but because their skill sets can be harder to replace making the cost of recruitment greater. In this economy not even people with those skills are safe.

Pink slips have been given to 165 of the employees at the Kenneth A. Kesselring site. For those of you who are not familiar with the facility, the Kenneth A. Kesselring site is a naval nuclear training facility. This round of layoffs are in response to the fact that the site is getting ready to switch the company that they use to provide industrial maintenance for the site.

The company that previously held the maintenance contract, General Dynamics Electric Boat has been servicing the facility for the last 24 years. Their contract was set to expire at the end of this year. So the workers will not be out of work until the companies contract expires on December 30th. The pink slips were delivered last Friday to 92 salaried and 73 hourly employees.
While General Dynamics Electric Boat did make a bid to gain a new contract they were outbid by another competitor: Newport News Shipbuilding. Newport News Shipbuilding, was awarded a five-year contract worth roughly $195-million. The contract also has a built in option for an additional five years at a cost of $395-million.

Since the layoffs are only related to a company change there is hope that at least some of the former employees could be re-hired back into their previous positions when the new company begins its hiring for the facility maintenance. Though there is no word at this time when the hiring will begin or how many exactly will get their jobs back. A representative of Newport News Shipbuilding said that the company is unsure of their needs at this time.

The contract awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding includes a “non-displacement of qualified workers” clause. This clause, which will give former site employees a first shot at positions will apply to current General Dynamics Electric Boat employees, but not anyone who is in a supervisory or managerial role. That knocks out about 30 of the 165 current Electric Boat employees. Though the contract does not guarantee them a chance at being rehired, they are free to re-apply.

In addition employees who are affected by the layoffs will get some support. General Dynamics Electric Boat has already spoken with the New York State Department of Labor to notify them of the impending job loss. The state will be providing displaced workers with transitional services, as will General Dynamics Electric Boat.
While Newport News Shipbuilding will not officially takes over the contract until Jan. 1, of 2012 a transitional period will begin Oct. 11. This period, which is s designed to ensure that there is no gap in maintenance may allow some employees to go from one company to another without losing a paycheck in-between.