PHILADELPHIA — Ominous storm clouds are forming yet again over Philly Shipyard, the commercial shipbuilding operation in the Navy Yard that taxpayers have rescued twice in the last two decades. The company’s order book is empty, and shipowners are buying few new vessels.
The shipyard, whose majority shareholder is Norwegian holding company Aker ASA, has laid off about 250 employees and contractors in recent months, reducing its workforce to 950, as it rushes to complete two 850-foot-long cargo vessels to serve the Hawaii-Pacific market, the largest container ships ever built in the United States.
Layoffs are expected to continue as the completion date for the final ship approaches early next year, as there is no new work in the pipeline.
