BAE Systems Australia is cutting over 150 jobs at the Henderson precinct as defence work slows down despite the site’s crucial future role in AUKUS.
The Henderson precinct is intended to be the epicentre of ‘continuous naval shipbuilding in WA’, according to the government, as well as the future location of depot-level maintenance and contingency docking for Australian nuclear-powered submarines.
“Contingency and depot-level maintenance alone will create around 3,000 jobs in Western Australia. This is in addition to the thousands of jobs that will be supported through construction of the Defence Precinct, delivery of continuous naval shipbuilding in the West,” the government said in October 2024.
That effort appears to be unsuccessful so far: BAE Systems plans to cut 153 roles, primarily in WA but with some from the company’s office on Bourke St in Melbourne.
The shipbuilder attributes the losses to the end of the Transition Capability Assurance Program (TransCAP) for the Anzac-class frigates, which was scrapped by the government following a review of the RAN’s surface fleet by US Navy Vice Admiral (Ret’d) William Hilarides.
The government argued that the new general purpose frigate acquisition would ‘negate the need’ for the TransCAP.
“Following the Commonwealth’s decision in 2024 to cancel the TransCAP program we have been working hard to secure ongoing work for the Henderson shipyard, to continue our operations and minimise impact of the cancelled program on our people,” a BAE Systems spokesperson said to ADM.
“Between July and November 2025, we will see a reduction of approximately 121 trades and 32 non-trade roles, primarily in Henderson, with some impacts in Bourke Street.”
The company said it is helping affected employees relocate to Adelaide or to find other work in the Henderson precinct.
“We are helping our people find roles in other defence organisations in the Henderson precinct. We are also supporting both our trades and office-based people to explore opportunities to move interstate, for example to Adelaide, where our Osborne Naval Shipyard is located,” the spokesperson said. “We are immensely grateful for the work and devotion of our people in support of the Royal Australian Navy’s capability.”
The cuts at BAE Systems follow existing job losses from Luerssen Australia’s Henderson workforce due to the reduction of the Offshore Patrol Vessel contract from 12 ships to six, and Luerssen Australia’s subsequent acquisition by Civmec for $20 million. ADM understands some of those jobs were cut with just a few days’ notice.
Meanwhile, ADM understands the Commonwealth is yet to sign its announced Strategic Partnering Agreement with Austal, which is mandated to build eight Landing Craft Heavy and 18 Landing Craft Mediums at Henderson. The latter program faces possible delays of up to two years as final blueprints remained unapproved, according to a June report from the ABC.
Henderson is also the currently mandated site for the build of the general-purpose frigates, for which TKMS and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were down-selected ahead of Hanwha and Navantia.
Hanwha nonetheless continues its pursuit of Austal, passing a US regulatory milestone on 10 June to increase its equity position from 9.9 per cent to 19.9 per cent, though Austal disputed Hanwha’s claim in a media release published on the same day: “Based on informal discussions to date, Austal understands that the approval granted by CFIUS [Committee on Foreign Investment in the US] is different to that claimed by Hanwha,” the release states.
ADM has approached Defence for comment.