Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby recently testified before Congress that jobs involved in shipbuilding and maintenance should be safe from cuts among civilian defense workers expected in the coming weeks.
That includes people hired less than a year ago, which the federal government classifies as probationary employees, he said.
“The shipyards are exempt from the probationary employees, and they're exempt from the hiring freeze,” Kilby said in response to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. “So we are trying to shape this in a manner that allows us to continue the most important work as we work through guidance from the administration.”
The pronouncement has not stopped at least a small number of civilians being let go from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. All six probationary workers were secretaries, said Bill Webber, American Federation of Government Employees Local 2024 in Maine.
“If it wasn’t for the support trades then the deckplate workers cannot do the work,” he said.
The Navy put the workers on administrative leave for three weeks pending their dismissal. In the meantime, a federal judge ordered probationary workers reinstated. The hope is the six workers will be brought back before their leave ends April 1, Webber said.
“I cannot understand how we could cut anybody at this point. We’re already doing everything we can to fulfill our contracts,” he said.
The Navy has not said publicly whether civilian workers have been cut at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
In Hampton Roads, exempting civilian mariners, shipyard and maintenance workers would dramatically lower the percentage of the Navy’s civilian workforce potentially under threat of being fired. The area hosts the public shipyard, to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center and Military Sealift Command, among a host of smaller commands tied to maintaining the fleet.
About 5,400 probationary workers were part of a first round of cuts. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said the Pentagon will cut up to 8%of its total civilian workforce.
Each of the services have been ordered to design a list of non-essential employees.
At the moment, the Navy is making the decisions on who is not essential without all of its leadership in place. President Trump removed CNO Lisa Franchetti and his choice for navy secretary, businessman John Phelan, has not been confirmed. In his testimony, Phelan said shipbuilding is his top priority.
A recent Government Accountability Office report admonished the Navy for the slow pace of building new ships and the backlog of maintenance issues. It is the latest in a series of reports critical of the Navy’s ability to produce and maintain ships. Sealift Command has dozens of openings for civilian mariners to fill the need to replenish vessels at sea and move cargo around the world.
