About 150 job losses are expected at Williamstown’s naval shipyard in the wake of the federal government’s announcement of a $40 billion continuous shipbuilding program based in South Australia.
A meeting will be held on Wednesday at BAE Systems in Williamstown between management and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.
Union organiser Colin Muir said BAE could change the number of redundancies it is offering because of the government’s announcement.
“They’ve already indicated there’s more job losses, probably about 150, around the end of August, start of September,” Mr Muir said.
“I don’t think the timeframes are really going to change that much, but the numbers might based on the decision of the Abbott government … I think BAE are certainly reviewing where they’re going and what’s likely to happen.”
BAE Systems spokeswoman Kaye Noske said there were 900 workers – including 600 shipbuilders – at Williamstown, with work due to run out early next year.
“As a project-based business, our employee numbers must match the needs and status of our ongoing and upcoming projects.
“We are regularly reviewing our resource requirements as major projects progress towards completion.
“We have approximately 600 people currently engaged in shipbuilding on the landing helicopter dock and air warfare destroyer projects at the Williamstown shipyard.
“This is down from approximately 1100 since last October when HMAS Canberra departed the yard.
“There doesn’t appear to be any work in the short term for Williamstown.”
Defence Minister Kevin Andrews’ spokeswoman, Chloe Petch, said it was too late to bridge the gap between jobs at Williamstown.
“As the chief of defence force and the secretary of defence have said, it’s too late to bridge the ‘valley of death’ shipbuilders face when current projects run out.
“To avoid job losses, the previous government would have had to have placed orders for ships at least three years ago.
“The government’s commitment to a continuous build strategy will transform Australia’s naval shipbuilding industry and put an end to the boom-bust cycle that has afflicted the industry, which has led to the current shipbuilding ‘valley of death’ left to the nation by the previous Labor government.”
Gellibrand MP Tim Watts said Prime Minister Tony Abbott had remained silent on “how the crisis in the shipbuilding industry caused by this government will be overcome in areas that are not marginally-held Liberal electorates”.
