Williamstown’s BAE Systems shipyard will cut 30 jobs before Christmas with more to go unless the company secures government contracts to avoid a “valley of death” in the industry.
BAE spokeswoman Mary-Anne Lane said 30 boilermakers and welders had been made redundant because work such as steel fabrication was nearly complete on the landing helicopter dock (LHD) and air warfare destroyer (AWD) projects.
She warned of more job losses at the shipyard, which employs 1100 people, due to a gap after the LHD is built.
“If we don’t get more work from the [federal] government we will need to assess the staff numbers required for the work which is currently in the yard.
“We have been successful in securing some commercial work in an effort to maintain skill levels. But it’s not enough to sustain the total number of employees currently in the yard, as we are primarily a naval shipyard.”
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said it had long warned that in 2015 the industry faced a “valley of death” where thousands of skilled jobs would be lost.
National secretary Paul Bastian said the 30 job losses were a terrible blow for those workers and their families but also a loud wake-up call for the government to act.
“If decisions are not taken now, the 30 jobs at BAE Systems in Williamstown will only be the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“Workers will leave the industry and our shipbuilding capacity will decline.
“This is a tragedy because we know that there are huge opportunities in the shipbuilding sector.”
Mr Bastian said the last two defence white papers had recognised that the navy required a major fleet turnover in the next 30 years.
A spokeswoman for Defence Minister David Johnston said the senator was “receiving advice and working closely with the Defence Materiel Organisation and Australia’s shipbuilding sector to avoid production troughs where possible”.
