Job Jitters at the Shipyard 

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard 

Photo: Naval Sea Systems Command 

By Lee Burnett 

Employees at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery are bracing for mass layoffs dictated by the Trump administration. No one yet knows the breadth of the job cuts, but directives have been coming from multiple federal offices. 

“It’s caused so much chaos and confusion,” said Alana Schaeffer, president of the Metal Trades Council, the shipyard’s largest union. 

The shipyard is one of four remaining government-owned shipyards in the country and employs 6,850 civilians and 1,000 officers and enlisted personnel. Some 499 Sanford residents were employed at the shipyard in 2021, accounting for $41.46 million in payroll, making Sanford the shipyard’s largest sending community. 

Originally, the federal Office of Personnel Management gave employees an order to explain their accomplishments in the prior week or risk firing, but the Department of Defense quickly instructed employees to disregard the directive. This past Monday, employees were instructed by DOD that they are now required to respond, explaining five things they did last week. Schaeffer said her members are complying with the directive as best they can, but many employees lack a computer or even an email address.  

“That’s a problem here,” she explained. “It’s not because people here aren’t accountable… Our employees report to supervisors every single day. We have 3,680 members. They don’t sit behind computers. They’re welders, pipefitters, machinists, not administrative assistants.” 

Supervisors are trying to accommodate the crush of employees who lack direct computer access. 

“We might have one computer for 100 people,” she said. “They’re expected to wait in line behind 40 other people. It’s inefficient and a waste of time and resources.” She expected employees to comply. “It’s not in their best interests to not comply.” 

Separate from the directive from the Office of Personnel Management, the shipyard is caught in a downsizing move to reduce the workforce by five to eight percent. At a press event last week, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the shipyard needs to hire 550 employees a year to keep up with retirements and workload demands. But, Shaheen said, the Trump administration has plans to lay off 75,000 Department of Defense employees nationwide. 

An employee recruitment fair slated for Tuesday of this week was canceled.