New Hampshire politicians and union leaders warn against federal cuts at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

On Friday afternoon, members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation and union leaders gathered in Portsmouth to warn against the federal government changes by the Trump Administration and its impact on the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Congressman Chris Pappas discussed the importance of the shipyard's work building submarines for the Navy, after the shipyard canceled a recruiting event and installed a hiring freeze earlier this week.

"These actions, playing politics with people’s jobs, our Navy, and our national security, are reckless, they are dangerous, and they are wrong," Hassan said. “Their move is to weaken the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard by curtailing the shipyard’s workforce."

The group also criticized recent orders from Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, saying they have led to confusion for these employees.

“The Musk-Trump administration has done nothing but add uncertainty and confusion to our workforce," Shaheen said. “These men and women deserve clarity. They deserve transparency from the government that they serve, because the work that they do is directly contributing to the safety and security of our country. There is no mission more important than that.”

Alana Schaeffer, president of the Metal Trades Council union, says reducing the workforce at the shipyard could have "detrimental" effects, and she spoke to the uncertainty felt by employees.

“Our workforce has been terrorized by reckless threats of firings, layoffs, repercussions for actions that have nothing to do with them," she said. "They’ve been hearing news of potential layoffs, but with absolutely no detail from the Office of Personnel Management, or from the Department of Defense."

Maine Sen. Susan Collins had joined Shaheen in a letter asking the Navy to exempt the shipyard from the deferred resignation program being offered as a buyout for federal workers.

"Well, it’s been 18 days," Shaheen said. "The Navy still hasn’t answered us.”

Sen. Susan Collins released a statement saying she has been in contact with the shipyard, and she "continues to oppose any workforce initiatives that would negatively affect maintenance timelines or support to our national defense by our public shipyards."

Union leaders say that, so far, about 145 employees have signed up for the deferred resignation program.