• PM Malcolm Turnbull and VADM Ray Griggs receive a tour of Hobart's bridge by Director General Air Warfare Destroyer, Commodore Craig Bourke. Credit: Defence
    PM Malcolm Turnbull and VADM Ray Griggs receive a tour of Hobart's bridge by Director General Air Warfare Destroyer, Commodore Craig Bourke. Credit: Defence
  • Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks with Air Warfare Destroyer shipbuilders during a tour of HMAS Hobart. Credit: Defence
    Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks with Air Warfare Destroyer shipbuilders during a tour of HMAS Hobart. Credit: Defence
  • Air Warfare Destroyer HMAS Hobart successfully fires a Harpoon Blast Test Vehicle. Credit: Defence
    Air Warfare Destroyer HMAS Hobart successfully fires a Harpoon Blast Test Vehicle. Credit: Defence
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The Australian Submarine Corporation has notified the government of a reduction of its workforce as work on the Air Warfare Destroyers winds down.

In a statement, Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne attributed the reduction to the policies of the previous government.

“The slowdown of work for the ASC is the direct result of Labor’s failure to commission a single vessel from an Australian yard.”

“There will be a period of transition as our current shipbuilding workforce redeploys to new opportunities being created across our defence industrial base.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks with Air Warfare Destroyer shipbuilders during a tour of HMAS Hobart. Credit: Defence
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks with AWD shipbuilders during a tour of HMAS Hobart. Credit: Defence

A targeted retention strategy will help up to 100 workers support the Future Submarine Program Office and fill vacant positions in the Collins-class sustainment workforce.

Scholarships will also be made available to workers who wish to upskill into roles in operations management, computer-aided design, engineering, and the supply chain.

Although ASC has indicated that it will cut jobs during the transition, there is an upwards trend of job creation.

The Australian Naval Infrastructure has advised Defence that an additional 600 direct jobs will be created through the Osborne South shipyard redevelopment.

ASC Shipbuilding will directly employ up to 400 workers at Osborne and 600 indirectly through the construction of two Offshore Patrol Vessels, which is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The naval shipbuilding workforce is expected to grow to 5,200 by the mid-2020s.

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