The Pentagon’s announcement last week that it plans to lay off 5,400 probationary employees across the country put workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on edge.

Though the Trump administration has said that it would protect the Department of Defense from unprecedented efforts to reduce what it has called a “bloated” federal workforce, union leaders at the Kittery shipyard said on Friday that they haven’t been able to confirm anything about the layoffs. Union leaders say that uncertainty is making their jobs harder.

“We still lack a whole lot of clear guidance,” said Alana Schaeffer, president of the Metal Trades Council, which represents about 3,600 shipyard workers. “We stand by every day, waiting to get guidance on what that’s going to look like for us, and we still receive nothing. … It’s absolutely very anxiety inducing when you don’t know what’s coming around the corner.”

Having fewer workers will make things even worse, said Eudes James, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 4, a union representing about 2,000 engineers at the shipyard.

“We cannot afford to lose people that we have spent time to train,” said James. “We’re the only people who can do that work. Nobody else does this work. … Where are you going to find people? It’s going to be an insurmountable task to do that in the future.”

The shipyard employs more than 4,300 Mainers and 3,100 New Hampshire residents, according to the Seacoast Shipyard Association‘s 2024 economic impact report.

“A lot of these are career employees,” Schaeffer said. “They don’t have backup plans. This was supposed to be the premier job in the area.”

‘THE WORST PLACE TO LEAVE VULNERABLE’

No shipyard layoffs had been confirmed Friday and Maine’s congressional delegation said workforce cuts would be misguided.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Friday that the shipyard “would be the worst place to leave vulnerable.”

These are specialized employees whose work has a direct impact on national security, members of Maine’s delegation agreed. Several said they plan to advocate against layoffs in Kittery.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, recently joined Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, in sending a letter to the Navy requesting the shipyard be exempt from deferred resignations.

“The men and women who work at these shipyards are critical members of our defense industrial base, without whom the ability to repair, retrofit and refuel our country’s nuclear submarines would be in jeopardy,” a Collins spokesperson said in an email.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, was “still trying to chase down reliable information to separate facts from rumors,” his office said, but understood “that layoffs at the shipyard would be a mistake.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said in a written statement Friday that the reported plans “put both our national security and Maine’s economic stability at risk.”

“The highly skilled professionals at the shipyard are essential to maintaining the most advanced ships in our naval fleet, and their expertise cannot be easily replaced,” Pingree said. “These are not just jobs — they are lifelong careers built on generations of dedication and craftsmanship.

DELAYED RESIGNATIONS

Both Schaeffer and James were also concerned by threats of a hiring freeze, should employees feel pressure to resign.

Roughly 140 shipyard employees signed up for a “deferred resignation,” James said, but those aren’t finalized until workers sign a contract.

The deferred resignation program was launched by billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising the president and the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. About 75,000 federal employees have agreed to quit in return for being paid until Sept. 30, according to the Office of Personnel Management. The program was recently upheld by a federal judge.

James was also concerned about Trump’s executive orders, demanding federal employees return to their offices. He said some shipyard workers are allowed to telecommute under their contracts, which has come in handy given a shortage in parking spaces at the shipyard.

James has filed a grievance because he believes the orders can’t legally interfere with contracts signed before Trump took office.

Other employees — the pipefitters, electricians, machinists, insulators and welders — can’t work from home due to the nature of their work.

Both union leaders said they feel like the administration’s approach has been applied with a “broad brush,” without taking into account what certain federal employees actually do.

“I don’t think they know what we do down here,” James said. “These people are making decisions and they have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Staff Writer Kay Neufeld contributed to this report.