Seventy more job cuts have been announced at BAE Systems naval shipyard in Willliamstown.
It follows the axing of 125 jobs in August and signals the imminent end of Victoria’s only shipyard unless new shipbuilding orders are brought forward.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is calling on the Federal Government to urgently intervene to save remaining jobs.
AMWU assistant national secretary Glenn Thompson said BAE management this week gave notice to 70 primarily white-collar employees at the end of their shift.
“BAE advised 70 workers, primarily people that work in planning, scheduling and supervision within the Williamstown yard, that they will be made redundant,” he said.
“If there is no work coming forward in that yard come the first quarter of next year, effectively there will a handful of blue-collar workers left in that facility to maintain the infrastructure.”
He said the union was calling on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne to urgently bring forward new shipbuilding work until the promised $39 billion offshore Pacific Vessel program and Future Frigates program commenced in 2018 and 2020.
“And we need a firm commitment from the Turnbull Government to build 12 new submarines in Australia,” Mr Thompson said.
BAE spokeswoman Kaye Noske said there were about 500 shipbuilders left at Williamstown, down from 1100 last October when HMAS Canberra departed the yard.
“The reductions that are progressively occurring in Williamstown are the result of a reducing backlog in naval shipbuilding work as current projects complete with no new projects coming behind them.”
In August, the spokeswoman for former defence minister Kevin Andrews had said it was too late to bridge the gap between jobs at Williamstown.
“Joe Hockey dared the car industry to leave and it did,” he said.
“Now the Liberals are doing exactly the same thing with the shipbuilding industry.
“We’re onto our third Liberal Minister for Defence in a year, and it shows.
“They all seem content on waving goodbye to Australia’s shipbuilding industry, as well as thousands of high skilled Australian jobs.”
The new Defence Minister has been contacted for comment.
