Hampton Roads community colleges form workforce cooperative
Three Hampton Roads community colleges are forming the new Community College Workforce Cooperative to create a one-stop shop for industries seeking large-scale job training in the region. Tidewater, Thomas Nelson and Paul D. Camp community colleges, which have 10 locations across Eastern Virginia, announced the collaboration Tuesday. The CCWC, led by Executive Director Todd Estes, […]
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 shipbu[...]
Seven Va. exporters graduate from VALET program
Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Friday the list of the latest seven companies to graduate from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program. More than 300 companies have now graduated from the a two-year international business acceleration program that assists participating Virginia exporters with international sales plan development services, […][...]
Norfolk shipping, logistics company to create 400 jobs through $36M expansion
Shipping and logistics company CMA CGM Group will keep its North American headquarters in Norfolk and invest $36 million to expand its Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia operations, creating more than 400 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday. The French company opened its first Virginia office in 2002 in Virginia Beach and in 2005 moved […]
10 Va. companies join VEDP’s export trade program
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) announced Wednesday that 10 new companies have been accepted into its two-year Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program, which helps companies work on international exporting growth strategies. The VALET program helps Virginia companies to establish domestic operations for exports and encourages using international exporting as a growth strategy. […][...]
New Port of Virginia chief named
Stephen Edwards, a Los Angeles-based CEO with more than two decades of maritime industry experience, will be the Virginia Port Authority’s new CEO and executive director, the authority’s Board of Commissioners announced Wednesday. Edwards, who will start his new post Jan. 19, replaces retiring CEO and Executive Direc[...]
The soybean dilemma
One thing’s for certain: The one-two punch of the U.S.-China tariffs battle followed by the coronavirus pandemic has hurt farmers in Virginia. But opinions are divided on the future of agriculture and forestry in the commonwealth, and which presidential candidate has better policies to protect jobs and profits here. On the[...]
Hampton Roads State of the Region report offers sobering look at COVID-19 impacts
Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis & Policy’s 2020 State of the Region report for Hampton Roads offers a sobering look at how the pandemic has harmed the regional economy and left tens of thousands of Hampton Roads residents jobless. Employment in Hampton Roads fell dramatically, hotel occupancy continues to be outpaced by […]
Executive Insights
David C. White Executive vice president, Virginia Maritime Association What do you consider the most pressing issue facing the Hampton Roads region? The maritime industry is in the best position to drive the economic growth and job creation for the region. Capacity at the container terminals has been increased to move an additional 1 million […]
No rest for defense
Some of the biggest economic news in Hampton Roads over the past year has come from Department of Defense projects. The top headline belongs to a pair of massive Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) contracts. In November 2019, Reston-based General Dynamics Corp. won the largest Navy contract ever awarded, $22.2 billion, to produc[...]
12 Va. companies join VEDP’s export trade program
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) announced Wednesday that 12 companies were accepted into its two-year Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program, which helps companies work on international exporting growth strategies. The VALET program helps Virginia companies to establish domestic operations for exports and encourages using international exporting as a growth strategy. During the […][...]
Sailing for the horizon
Tariff wars and the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a one-two punch to the Port of Virginia, but officials are focusing on the positive as expansions are completed at the port’s two largest terminals, and a dredging project to make Virginia the East Coast’s deepest port is running ahead of schedule. The third-largest East Coast [...]