Will Trump’s Super Battleships Be Built?

Jan. 15—U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan told the Surface Navy Association’s national symposium Jan. 13 that U.S. naval shipbuilders must hire a quarter-million workers over the next decade to build President Donald Trump’s Golden Fleet, which include the new Trump Class super battleships.

“Systems don’t build ships. People do,” Phelan said, reported U.S. Naval Institute News. “A quarter of the shipyard workforce is eligible for retirement within five years. Over the next decade, shipbuilders and suppliers will need to hire roughly 250,000 skilled workers to meet demand. That means apprenticeships, vocational training, accelerated pipelines, and partnerships with local communities. It also means paying fair wages … consistent build schedules so shipyard workers can have lifetime careers. AI and automation do not replace the workforce.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the U.S. shipbuilding industry employs about 146,000 workers, but, as Phelan indicated, the workforce is aging, and turnover is high among younger workers. Shipyard employment has not substantially changed since about 1980, even declining slowly over much of that time, raising questions about whether the industry can even come close to absorbing the surge that Phelan is calling for. The workforce problem, without even taking into account supply-chain issues and other problems afflicting all industries in the United States, makes it doubtful that Trump’s Golden Fleet, including his Trump-class battleships, will ever be built any time soon.