WARWICK – Over the past year, General Dynamics Electric Boat has hired at its fastest rate on record, with 3,900 shipbuilders added to its workforce across Quonset Point and in Groton, Conn.
That push, bolstered by around 400 hiring events and expanded recruitment programming in 2022, is part of what company president Kevin Graney calls a “once in a generation expansion.”
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And the Connecticut-based employer, which now has nearly 20,000 employees total, has no intentions of slowing down.
“We’re going to continue an aggressive hiring strategy in 2023,” Graney said, “and I really think … 2023, 2024, for quite a few years ahead.”
The company, a subsidiary of Virginia-Based General Dynamics Corp., is moving ahead with aggressive hiring strategies in support of its ongoing production of Columbia and Virginia class nuclear-power and guided-missile submarines.
Throughout Electric Boat’s 2023 legislative briefing on Monday morning, held in-person for the first time since 2020 at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick, Graney stressed the company’s ongoing hiring drive as it continues work on these submarine classes across its two locations.
Graney was joined by Gov. Daniel J. McKee and members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation at the company’s annual presentation on the previous year and upcoming business outlook.
Electric Boat’s emphasis on hiring echoes past legislative briefings, including the company’s 2022 presentation, where Graney outlined plans to hire more than 3,000 people, with about half of those positions at Electric Boat’s location in Quonset Business Park.
The additional 3,900 hires Graney reported in the 2023 presentation represent an increase of around 1,400 workers added compared to the previous year’s numbers, with Electric Boat reporting 2,500 employees hired in 2021 during its 2022 legislative briefing.
Of Electric Boat’s nearly 20,000 current employees, 32% are Rhode Island residents. Another 62% of employees live in Rhode Island, and the remaining 6% live on other states.
Graney also provided updates on progress in the company’s submarine production, noting that the Columbia class lead ship is about 30% complete with advance construction for a second ship underway.
Workers at Quonset completed nine Virginia-class models in 2022 and three Virginia payload models, representing a 60% improvement in cycle time.
In Rhode Island, the company has awarded $177.4 million to suppliers over the past five years, Graney said, including $30 million to 33 suppliers in the state’s first district and $147.4 million to 79 suppliers in the second district. The company continues “actively working to identify new suppliers,” Graney said.
As Electric Boat ramps up production, it has also altered the skyline of Quonset Point in North Kingstown, Graney said, with ongoing construction of 200,000 square feet in new missile manufacturing facilities.
The company is growing at a rate it hasn’t seen in more than 40 years, Graney said, and experiencing increased demand amid increasing international tension between the United States and Russia and China.
State officials called Electric Boat an important force in Rhode Island’s economy and the national defense manufacturing and technology sphere.
McKee spoke in support of more K-12 programming to promote future careers at Electric Boat, noting that middle school students are just a few years away from first steps into the workforce.
This educational aspect is “front and center” in state efforts for the hiring push, McKee said.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
