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Tag: Newport News Shipbuilding

Newport News Shipbuilding delivers 10th Virginia-class sub

The Navy’s newest submarine is now in the hands of the sea service.

Newport News Shipbuilding delivered the future USS Montana (SSN-794) on March 11, according to a news release. It is the 10th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine to be delivered by Newport News and the 21st built as part of construction-sharing agreement with General Dynamics’ Groton, Connecticut-based Electric Boat subsidiary.

Montana is the second Virginia-class submarine to be delivered in less than a month; the future USS Oregon was handed over by General Dynamics in February, according to Naval Sea Systems Command.

Montana completed sea trials, which included submerging the submarine for the first time and surface and underwater maneuvers, in early February. It is scheduled for commissioning into the service in late June, Navy spokesperson Lt. Katie Diener told Virginia Business.

“We continue to be proud of our partnership with the U.S. Navy in delivering the most advanced ships in the world to our warfighters,” said Jason Ward, Newport News’ vice president of Virginia-class construction. “The results of the Navy’s board of inspection and survey during sea trials are a testament to our priorities of safety and quality. We are proud of our team of shipbuilders for delivering these critical capabilities to the Navy and the nation.”

More than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News and Electric Boat have worked since 2015 to construct the Montana. It is named for former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and was christened in 2020.

In December 2019, Reston-based General Dynamics won the largest Navy contract ever awarded, a $22.2 billion multiyear order for nine Block V Virginia-class nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarines capable of launching Tomahawk missiles.  That was followed by an additional $2.4 billion awarded in March 2021 to build a 10th Block V submarine. Construction of that submarine is expected to being in 2024.

The Montana is the third of the 10-ship Virginia-class known as Block IV, which incorporates design changes intended to reduce costs over the life of the ship. General Dynamics was awarded a $17.6 billion contract for construction of the block in 2014.

The first USS Montana was an armed cruiser that was also built at Newport News and commissioned in 1908.

 

New VP of HR and trades named at Newport News Shipbuilding

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries has named Xavier Beale vice president of human resources and trades at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, effective April 1.

Beale will oversee human resources administration, employment, labor relations and recruitment, as well as his previous role as vice president of trades, according to a news release announcing his promotion.

Beale succeeds Susan Jacobs, who was promoted to vice president of human resources and administration at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in February.

“As part of our transition plan, and because our 2022 priorities include hiring and retention, continuous learning and development, and training, we have an opportunity to streamline the ‘people organizations,’” Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin said. “To support this effort, we are combining our human resources and administration and trades organizations.”

Dave Horne

Dave Horne was promoted to senior director of trades to support Beale in his oversight of that area within the organization. Horne will oversee production trade execution and trades management, a critical role within the shipbuilder’s human resources and trades organization given the complexity of the large backlog of work at Newport News and the demographics of its current workforce, the company said.

Horne started his career in the trades. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Christopher Newport University, a master’s degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology and is a Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School graduate.

Beale is a second-generation shipbuilder and has served as vice president of trades since 2018. Prior to that, he held positions of increasing responsibility within human resources. Beale earned a bachelor’s degree in governmental administration from Christopher Newport University and a master’s degree in human resources from Troy University.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is the nation’s largest military shipbuilder. The Fortune 500 company employs more than 44,000 workers and is Virginia’s largest industrial employer. Its Newport News Shipbuilding division is the United States’ only manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Newport News Shipbuilding, steelworkers union ratify new labor contract

Members of United Steelworkers on Tuesday ratified a new, five-year labor contract with Newport News Shipbuilding.

United Steelworkers Local 8888 represents more than 10,000 shipbuilders at the Newport News shipyard, the country’s only manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Terms of the new contract will remain in place until Feb. 7, 2027, and include wage increases, bonuses, a three-year freeze on employee healthcare premiums and additional annual leave.

“With this new contract in place, we are more focused than ever on tackling our complex work and meeting our Navy commitments in support of America’s defense,” Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin said in a letter to shipbuilders Tuesday. “And we do it best when we do it together.”

The contract comes after members rejected a tentative agreement in November 2021.

Newport News Shipbuilding is a division of Fortune 500 military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries. As Virginia’s largest industrial employer, HII employs more than 44,000 workers.

HII announces corporate, human resources promotions

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries, the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, has promoted Edmond Hughes to executive vice president and chief human resources officer, the company announced Thursday.

Hughes has served as vice president of human resources and administration contracts at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division and at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding since 2006. He’ll replace William “Bill” R. Ermatinger, who is retiring April 1 after 25 years.

“Bill’s leadership has been critical to the evolution and growth of HII. It is a testament to his success that we have a deep bench of talent to fill his shoes,” HII President and CEO Mike Petters said in a news release Thursday.

Jacobs

Susan Jacobs, who has served as vice president of human resources at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division since 2016, will replace Hughes. Before her position at NNS, Jacobs spent nearly a decade as director of human resources and administration at Ingalls.

Hughes’ new responsibilities will include employee compensation, health and welfare, benefits, employee and labor relations, learning and development, talent management and acquisition, equal employment opportunity, diversity and inclusion and change management. He previously led human resources at General Motors and TRW Automotive. Hughes has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tougaloo College, in Mississippi, and an MBA from Indiana University.

Jacobs will be responsible for attracting, developing and retaining Ingalls’ workforce. She previously served as senior director of human resources for L-3 Communications. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi.

HII said the promotions of Hughes and Jacobs are critical in continuing the company’s record of developing leaders and talent as well as creating an environment that values respect, engagement and performance.

The Fortune 500 company employs more than 44,000 workers and is Virginia’s largest industrial employer. Its Newport News Shipbuilding division is the United States’ only manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Last month, HII announced Christopher D. Kastner would take over as president and CEO on March 1.

 

Huntington Ingalls Industries promotes VP of contracts

Newport News-based Fortune 500 military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) promoted Matt Mulherin Jr. to vice president of contracts at its Newport News Shipbuilding division. He assumed the role on Monday.

“Matt, a second-generation shipbuilder, brings more than 17 years of business management experience and leadership to this position,” Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin said in a statement.

Mulherin will have responsibility for contracts, pricing and export/import licensing and compliance for Newport News Shipbuilding. He will report to Don Godwin, vice president of business management and chief financial officer for Newport News Shipbuilding.

He started at Newport News Shipbuilding in 2004 as a financial analyst and served as business manager for the Block III Virginia-class submarine program. Mulherin also served in director-level business management positions for both submarine and aircraft carrier programs, and he was most recently the program director for Doris Miller and future aircraft carriers.

Mulherin holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from William & Mary.

He succeeded Christie Thomas, who has been appointed corporate vice president of investor relations.

HII is the nation’s largest military shipbuilding company, with more than 44,000 employees worldwide. More than 20,000 of those employees work for HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, the state’s largest industrial employer. HII reported 2020 revenue of $9.36 billion and reported $2.3 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2021.

HII names new CIO for Newport News Shipbuilding

Jason K. Sutton has been promoted to chief information officer for Newport News Shipbuilding, parent company Huntington Ingalls Industries announced last week.

Sutton, who joined the company in 2018 as director of operations integration and is currently program director for steel fabrication and assembly, will be responsible for all aspects of information technology and lead HII’s enterprise cybersecurity and IT organizational and leadership change model. HII is the largest military shipbuilding company in the U.S. and is based in Newport News.

Sutton will succeed Brian Fields, vice president of business transformation and chief transformation officer, who is transitioning to vice president in charge of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and Doris Miller, which are being constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding and are scheduled to launch in 2025 and 2029 respectively.

Sutton graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1993 and served more than 24 years in various Air Force strategic and tactical leadership roles in cyberspace operations and IT. He retired in 2018 as director of communications and CIO for the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, where he oversaw cyberspace and communications policy, resource advocacy and program management supporting 94,000 active-duty and civilian personnel worldwide. He holds masters’ degrees from Regent University and the Air Force Institute of Technology.

 

General Dynamics books $2.4B Navy contract to build 10th submarine

General Dynamics has been awarded a potential $2.4 billion contract option from the Navy to build a 10th Virginia-class submarine, the U.S. Department of Defense announced last week.

The Fairfax-based company’s Electric Boat subsidiary in Connecticut will work with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding on the project, which was added on to a December 2019 contract for $22.2 billion, the largest ever awarded by the Navy. The contract called for the building of nine submarines, with the possibility of a 10th vessel.

About a third of the contract work will take place in Newport News, and work on all 10 submarines is set to be finished by February 2030. According to the Navy, the Naval Sea Systems Command will provide about $2.7 billion in shipbuilding and conversion funds for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 at the time of the award.

General Dynamics employs 100,000 people worldwide and reported $39.4 billion in 2019 revenue.

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Newport News Shipbuilding lays off 314 employees

Newport News Shipbuilding has laid off 314 salaried employees and demoted 119 managers in its first workforce reduction since the shipyard laid off 1,218 employees in 2015, according to a letter sent to employees by the company’s president, Jennifer Boykin.

“Today is a tough day as we say goodbye to 314 fellow shipbuilders as part of a layoff impacting our salaried workforce,” Boykin wrote. “This is the first workforce reduction we’ve experienced in five years and comes after a thorough assessment of our business. This decision, along with the demotion of an additional 119 managers, more evenly distributes management spans and reshapes production and support ratios. All impacted employees have been notified.”

She added that the shipbuilding company, the largest industrial employer in the state with more than 25,000 employees, is continuing to hire for some positions. “While these are very difficult decisions, they are necessary cost controls to help ensure the future of our shipyard and the affordability of the ships we build.”

A subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News Shipbuilding is the largest military shipbuilding company in the country. It is building nine Virginia-class Block V attack submarines with General Dynamics Electric Boat as part of a $22.2 billion contract awarded in December 2019. Employees laid off will receive severance and benefits, as well as transition assistance, according to Boykin’s letter.

 

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HII lands $2.99B Navy contract

The U.S. Navy awarded Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division a $2.99 billion contract to refuel and overhaul USS John C. Stennis supercarrier, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

Under the contract, Newport News Shipbuilding will perform work for the second half of the estimated five-decade service life of the aircraft carrier. The Stennis was built at Newport News Shipbuilding, christened in 1993 and delivered to the Navy in 1995.

“Our teams have spent three years preparing and planning for each step of the process along the way, and we look forward to continuing our work with our suppliers and Navy partners in anticipation of the ship’s arrival at Newport News,” Todd West, Newport News Shipbuilding’s vice president, in-service aircraft carrier programs, said in a statement.

The refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) is about 35% of all maintenance and modernization in the aircraft carrier’s service life. Work will include refueling the ship’s reactors and work on more than 2,300 components and hundreds of tanks and systems.

HII is the nation’s largest military shipbuilding company, employing more than 42,000 people worldwide.

 

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Newport News Shipbuilding lands $2.2B sub contract modification

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)’s Newport News Shipbuilding division received a $2.2 billion contract modification from Reston-based General Dynamics Electric Boat for construction of the first two Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, the company announced on Monday.

The U.S. Navy in early November awarded Electric Boat a $9.474 billion contract modification to build and test the first two Columbia-class intercontinental ballistic missile submarines — the largest ever built by the United States — and provide related design and engineering services.

Under the contract modification, Newport News Shipbuilding will deliver completed modules to Electric Boat for final assembly. Delivery is expected to start in November 2022, with the last one scheduled to take place by January 2028.

“We are pleased to be a crucial design and manufacturing contributor to the Columbia-class program,” Charles Southall, Newport News Shipbuilding’s vice president of Columbia-class submarine construction, said in a statement. “This contract continues NNS’ longstanding and strong commitment to the Navy’s undersea enterprise through the design and construction of major modules and assemblies necessary to achieve program objectives.”

Newport News shipbuilding has been working on the Columbia-class program since May 2019 when it began advance construction activities under Electric Boat. The Columbia class will replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine class. 

The 560-foot-long, 21,000-ton submarines are expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2027.

 

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