Surface Navy 2025: HII moves towards labour centres

HII wants to attract more experienced workers to its yards like Newport News Shipbuilding, pictured here. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

To better meet shipbuilding demand HII is willing to move towards labour centres while it also looks to attract a more experienced workforce to its existing yards, according to Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO.

“We're going to where the labour is,” Kastner said at a 9 January media roundtable in advance of the Surface Navy Association National Symposium 2025, which started on 14 January.

“We're expanding the radius or diameter on which we build ships,” Kastner said.

“Texas, Louisianna, Norfolk – we're going to where the labour is. It is more expensive and we sill have strict manufacturing standards to adhere to.”

For more information on HII's expansion efforts, please seeHII details plan to acquire South Carolina metal fabricator to boost shipbuilding capacity .

Workforce issues have continued to plague shipbuilders, just as such problems have hindered overall US manufacturing, Kastner said. “And pay is one of the major reasons why”, he added.

“You have to address wages,” he said. “The traditional spread between ship work and retail work we used to entertain is gone.”

He noted there has been some supplemental funding for navy projects to address the wage issue.

Better wages can attract workers and bolster the workforce talent, he said. “We see some results from partnering with the navy,” he added, noting workforce incentives.

“We've tried everything to attract additional labour and [enhance] retention,” Kastner said.

The issue goes beyond wages, he added. A greater effort must be made to foster a “manufacturing renaissance”.