The Australian Submarine Corporation has notified the government of a reduction of its workforce as work on the Air Warfare Destroyers winds down.
In a statement, Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne attributed the reduction to the policies of the previous government.
“The slowdown of work for the ASC is the direct result of Labor’s failure to commission a single vessel from an Australian yard.”
“There will be a period of transition as our current shipbuilding workforce redeploys to new opportunities being created across our defence industrial base.”
A targeted retention strategy will help up to 100 workers support the Future Submarine Program Office and fill vacant positions in the Collins-class sustainment workforce.
Scholarships will also be made available to workers who wish to upskill into roles in operations management, computer-aided design, engineering, and the supply chain.
Although ASC has indicated that it will cut jobs during the transition, there is an upwards trend of job creation.
The Australian Naval Infrastructure has advised Defence that an additional 600 direct jobs will be created through the Osborne South shipyard redevelopment.
ASC Shipbuilding will directly employ up to 400 workers at Osborne and 600 indirectly through the construction of two Offshore Patrol Vessels, which is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The naval shipbuilding workforce is expected to grow to 5,200 by the mid-2020s.