This story was originally produced by the Portsmouth Herald. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
The Department of Defense has exempted the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from the Trump administration’s federal workforce hiring freeze after several weeks of uncertainty.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, announced the exemption Tuesday in Portsmouth at a conference dedicated to the trilateral submarine agreement between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom known as AUKUS. It was welcome news for the 7,000-plus civilian employees at the local shipyard, where union representatives awaited guidance as the federal government handed down workforce-related directives.
“We think that’s good news for the shipyard. Obviously we need to continue to follow up and make sure that that continues and that we are on top of it,” Shaheen said.
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The Seacoast Shipyard Association stated last year that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard needs to hire 550 workers annually for the foreseeable future to meet the workload demand on Seavey Island, where a $1.8 billion dry dock expansion is increasing the capacity to overhaul nuclear submarines.
Continuing reading at Seacoast Online.
