Electric Boat to lay off 13 workers

Thirteen Electric Boat workers will be laid off June 8, according to a company notification.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, received late last week by the state Department of Labor, cited "a decline in contracted work" at the shipyard off Eastern Point Road.

All affected employees are members of the Metal Trades Council, the union representing shipyard workers.

The layoffs affect 10 technicians and three test mechanics. Top wages for both of these positions are about $25 an hour, according to a contract between Electric Boat and the MTC posted online on the U.S. Department of Labor website at www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/cba/private/cbrp_2320_pri.pdf.

The layoff notice is one in a series of incremental workforce reductions at the shipyard over the past year that have totaled more than 200, including an announced 11 in February.

At the same time, EB has said it is gearing up for 300 new hires, engineers required to work on a new class of submarines the U.S. Navy has sought and Congress has authorized.

Electric Boat's engineering center is now located at the former Pfizer Inc. headquarters off Pequot Avenue in the Fort Trumbull section of New London.

In the past, some layoff notices have been rescinded and shipyard employees retained as additional contract work became available.
l.howard@theday.com