Door County shipyard may lay off up to 405

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Green Bay Press Gazette, Green Bay, WI

By Nathan Phelps

STURGEON BAY — Bay Shipbuilding Co. filed a notice with the state Tuesday that it anticipates laying off as many as 405 people this fall due in large part to the economy.

Workers already laid off will be extended, according to the notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Additional layoffs will "depend on business conditions," the notice states.

A union representative for some of the workers at the yard said the layoffs likely will be temporary, noting that the company is out aggressively seeking work for the yard.

Additionally, the company could see more work when the Great Lakes shipping season ends this winter, spurring annual ship repair and overhaul jobs at the yard.

"There's little doubt in my mind they'll (workers) be recalled," said Lenny Gunderson, Boilermakers International representative with Local 449 in Sturgeon Bay. "Fincantieri is aggressively looking for work. I think it's just a sign of the times."

Bay Shipbuilding is owned by Fincantieri Marine Group along with Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette.

Gunderson said union members are "nervous" under these conditions.

"They have every right to be," he said. "This is not unprecedented that we'd have a huge layoff like this. No one likes to see it, but I fully expect the company to rebound."

With a downturn in the economy and a declining need for products that move on the Great Lakes by ship — such as iron ore and limestone — officials with Bay Shipbuilding said early this year they anticipated a slowdown in work.

But they said some areas of the maritime industry are looking past the recession at possible new construction projects that Bay Shipbuilding is aggressively going after.

Bay Shipbuilding, one of the major employers in Door County, recently finished the 521-foot Petrochem Supplier for U.S. Shipping.

Bay Shipbuilding is one of the key shipyards on the Great Lakes, tending to the freighters that move bulk materials around the lakes from April to December.

During the offseason, many of those ships go to Bay Shipbuilding for repair, regular maintenance and overhaul.

"Nobody is telling anybody to go look for another job," said Gunderson, who said labor relations at the yard are good. "I have every reason to believe this thing is going to turn around and we're going to get work, it's just unfortunate we have this gap."

Representatives from Bay Shipbuilding were not immediately available for comment Tuesday night.

While cargo tonnages moving on the lakes are still well below "normal" levels, the Lake Carriers Association saw an upward tick last month in some cargos and the number of ships sailing the lakes.

"They've got ships laid up there that are normally sailing and the work we'd normally do this winter, we've been doing some of that all summer," Gunderson said. "They just completed the (barge) project there and they're waiting for new work."

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