By ALESHA CAPONE
HUNDREDS of jobs at a Williamstown shipyard could be placed at risk if the business is not given any more Federal Government work.
During 2012, BAE Systems said it could start cutting more than 200 jobs in February this year due to a lack of work.
After BAE Systems was responsible for some faulty workmanship on the keel of the first Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) in 2010, some of its projects were re-assigned to interstate shipyards.
Last week Star contacted BAE Systems to ask if it was still planning to begin cutting jobs in February.
The director of Maritime BAE Systems Australia, Bill Saltzer, said jobs were not at risk just yet but the shipyard was facing a reduction in work.
“BAE Systems is still in discussions with the government regarding the need for additional naval work in Williamstown, because we are still facing a significant drop-off in workload starting in 2013,” he said.
“We have also communicated our strong interest in doing more work on the AWD program to the AWD Alliance.
“Decisions about any changes in the size of our workforce are always tied to the amount of work that we have under contract.
“We are not making any cuts at this time, but will continue to manage our staffing based on the outcome of the discussions above and our efforts to secure more work.”
Mr Saltzer said at the end of last year BAE completed work on the second AWD “on schedule and with high quality”.
“AWD Ship Three blocks are already under construction and will be completed by mid-2013,” he said.
“We believe that it would be in everyone’s interest to continue utilising the skilled and experienced workforce in Williamstown on that project.”
A Department of Defence spokesperson said the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance (AWDA) was “currently considering whether there is capacity to allocate further work to the BAE Shipyard in Williamstown”.
AWDA was put together by the government to organise projects between defence and industry.
“Allocation of block fabrication work is a commercial decision for the Alliance with all work allocation decisions based on commercial drivers such as cost, schedule and quality to achieve a best for program outcome,” the spokesperson said.
