Norfolk Naval Shipyard to Increase Workforce

Aiswarya Lakshmi December 19, 2014

Norfolk Naval Shipyard is planning to expand its workforce by 1,500 workers in an effort to keep up with worker attrition and looming ship repair workload, according to a report on http://hamptonroads.com.

Already one of the top employers in Hampton Roads, Norfolk Naval Shipyard is looking to hire another 1,500 workers by the end of September, the close of the federal fiscal year.

That will mean a net gain of about 800 positions at the yard in Portsmouth, after accounting for roughly 700 employees expected to be lost through retirements, resignations and transfers.

The Portsmouth shipyard employs about 9,500 people and has a reported annual payroll of about $700 million. It will have more than 10,000 workers in place after the new hires - the highest number of workers in the yard since the early 1990s.

As a result of federal budget cuts that forced the Navy to implement a civilian hiring freeze last year, the shipyard has been operating with a worker shortfall.