Naval Group workers to be hired by ASC after nuclear submarines deal announced for Adelaide

Hundreds of workers at dumped French submarine builder Naval Group have been told they will be taken on either by the ASC shipyard or elsewhere in the industry.

Government-owned shipbuilder ASC has vowed to help find work for hundreds of affected workers involved in the scrapped $90bn Attack-class submarine project.

ASC chairman Bruce Carter on Friday morning announced “all affected employees” would have the opportunity to either work for ASC or for other companies in the “wider industry”.

“We are ready for them,” Mr Carter declared, alongside Finance Minister Simon Birmingham and Premier Steven Marshall.

About 350 SA-based workers for French company Naval Group faced an uncertain future after the government tore up the Attack-class contract early on Thursday morning, replacing it with a new nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

That was until Mr Carter promised: “We will reach out to all of the people involved in that and welcome them into ASC”.

Premier Steven Marshall holds a press conference at ASC with Finance Minister Simon Birmingham and ASC chairman Bruce Carter (right). Picture: Kelly Barnes

ASC launched the Sovereign Shipbuilding Talent Pool, which seeks to either bring affected workers into ASC or connect them with other defence companies.

Demand for skilled jobs is expected to rise after Adelaide secured a suite of defence projects, including the Collins-class Life-of-Type Extension and major upgrades to the Hobart-class air warfare destroyers.

The talent pool will include workers with highly specialised shipbuilding skills and all clerical staff, with assurances given that every affected worker would be either hired by ASC or another industry company.

Mr Carter said ASC had openings for 150 jobs before Thursday morning’s announcement, but he cast doubt on how quickly ASC could recruit the hundreds of Naval Group employees.

“We’re going to have to take on a whole new infrastructure and then plan to bring these people in,” he said.

Apprentices working at ASC. Picture Kelly Barnes

Mr Carter said a fact sheet would be sent to the hundreds of Attack-class employees and a link to the employment pool website where they can register their interest for work with ASC.

“It is really tough what they are going through and we seek to reduce the anxiety by saying to them: you have a great future with ASC,” Mr Carter said.

Senator Birmingham said “all those affected” by the decision to ditch the Attack-class project would be able to “register their interest” with ASC.

“From that, we will be delivering on the commitment we’ve made as a government to ensure that skilled designers, skilled shipbuilders, those who have been working so hard on that program, are able to transition into other parts of the defence industry program,” he said.

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong told Adelaide radio she was concerned what scrapping the Attack-class project meant for local jobs.

Opposition deputy leader Susan Close said she was “sceptical” about all workers finding new jobs.

“Unless there is an absolute guarantee, then all we have is more uncertainty and more questions to be answered,” Ms Close said.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham with Naval Group global chief executive Pierre Eric Pommellet visiting Osborne shipyard in February, 2021. Picture: Mike Burton

The future of the employees was left up in the air after the surprise announcement on Thursday that a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines will be built in Adelaide.

The fleet will be part of an Australian, US and UK defence and security alliance and replaces the $90bn Future Submarines deal.

As part of the Future Submarines deal, French firm DCNS, now Naval Group, had won the $50bn contract to build 12 new submarines at Osborne.

A series of staff Naval Group briefings took place on Thursday to discuss the new nuclear subs deal, which the French company, based at Keswick and Port Adelaide, described as a “disappointment”.

“This is a major disappointment for Naval Group, which was offering Australia a regionally superior conventional submarine with exceptional performances,” it said.

“Naval Group was also offering Australia a sovereign submarine capability, making unrivalled commitments in terms of technology transfer, jobs and local content.

“For five years, Naval Group teams, both in France and in Australia, as well as our partners, have given their best and Naval Group has delivered on all its commitments.

“The analysis of the consequences of this sovereign Australian decision will be conducted with the Commonwealth of Australia in the coming days.”

On Thursday, SA Labor Leader Peter Malinauskas said the decision to suddenly scrap the biggest project in SA’s history meant “grave uncertainty for thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars of investment in our state”.

Mr Malinauskas said the Attack Class submarines were announced in 2016 and building works were originally supposed to begin in the mid-2020s.

“This means we have wasted at least five years, with the prospect of several more years of delays to come,” he said.

But Premier Steven Marshall hailed the announcement as a “jobs bonanza” for SA.

“There are going to be jobs for today, jobs for tomorrow, and jobs for decades to come thanks to today’s announcements,” Mr Marshall said.

“We will now be working with the Morrison Government and industry regarding transitional workforce plans.”

“These new submarines will be significantly bigger and more advanced, and today’s decision recognises the quality of naval shipbuilding in South Australia and our strong relationship with the federal government.

“South Australia is the Defence State and that means we are the Jobs State,” he said.

And, a joint media statement headlined by Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government would “actively work with industry to ensure the people and skills developed under the existing program are not lost to the government’s naval shipbuilding enterprise”.

“The existing submarine workforce are prime candidates for the unprecedented work that needs to be performed across the enterprise over the coming decades, where we will rely on their expertise more than ever,” the statement says.

“The government will partner with our Australian-owned sovereign shipbuilder, ASC, to manage and implement a new Sovereign Shipbuilding Talent Pool.

“The government is committed to finding a role within the Sovereign Shipbuilding Talent Pool for each and every skilled shipbuilding worker impacted by this announcement.

“The Sovereign Shipbuilding Talent Pool will redeploy the existing shipbuilding workforce throughout current and new shipbuilding programs, while building the nuclear-powered submarine skills that will be crucial for the success of the nuclear-powered submarine program.”