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BRAC
The Potential Impact on San Diego
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NAASCO) has been designing and building large ships in San Diego for commercial customers and the U.S. Navy since 1960. The company has become an integral part of the local economy and with the Base
Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission preparing for another round of downsizing, NASSCO's effect on our economy is more critical than ever.
Any base closures would hit our region hard. With companies like NASSCO providing key military support, our position is that much stronger and that much more vulnerable. Base closures directly impact the private sector and that is why our
local leadership has been so quick to react.
The Mayor and other local leaders recently met with key military and Defense Department officials in Washington, D.C., in order to convince them that our bases are essential and vital. San Diego has been hit hard during previous BRAC
rounds and with nearly 155,000 active-duty personnel and civilian employees working at the county's 14 bases and commands, which generate about $18 billion for the local economy, one lost job is one too many.
NASSCO is one of the key local companies that would be negatively impacted should this next round of BRAC target our region.
The largest manufacturing employer in San Diego in terms of workforce, NASSCO employs approximately 4,200 workers. The company's payroll alone contributed $180 million to the local economy in 2004, not including tens of millions of
additional dollars spent on equipment, supplies and services to keep the large shipyard running.
The only remaining shipyard on the West Coast capable of building large, oceangoing vessels, NASSCO is enjoying an 11-ship backlog, the largest in the company's history. With business booming, NASSCO's primary customer continues to be the
Navy, San Diego's largest defense contractor, which awarded local firms over $2.6 billion in contracts during 2003.
NASSCO, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, is currently building eight T-AKEs, a new class of combat logistics force ships, for the Navy, and three double-hull oil tankers for BP Shipping Company of Alaska. NASSCO's current contracts,
which include long-term maintenance and repair contracts with the Navy, have a total value of over $3 billion and will provide sustained employment at the shipyard through 2008.
"NASSCO has been hiring and training hundreds of employees for its workforce to meet the needs of our T-AKE and commercial contracts," said Richard Vortmann, president of NASSCO. "We have several hundred jobs remaining to be filled and
are looking for skilled individuals as well as people willing to join our paid training program."
NASSCO specializes in auxiliary and support ships for the Navy and oil tankers and dry cargo carriers for commercial markets. Over the last four decades, NASSCO has delivered over 100 ships to the world's fleets, of that 53 were auxiliary
and support ships for the Navy.
For the rest of the story
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Employment Law Seminar
Is Your Business in Compliance With the New Labor Laws?
The pressures of operating a business in California are significant and every year the business community must prepare for, and adapt to, a host of new regulations. A panel of legal experts will discuss labor law issues that will impact
the daily operation of your business.
When: Thursday, February 17
7:30 – 10.30 a.m.
Where: Red Lion Hanalei Hotel
Grand Pacific Room
2270 Hotel Circle North
Cost: $35 Chamber Members
$45 Prospective Members
$265 For a Table of Eight
Register today by calling (619) 544-1370 or visit
sdchamber.org and register in the Events Main calendar under the chamber Events icon.
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