At a time some companies continue to lay off workers, Electric Boat is hiring.
The Groton-based company is planning to add at least 600 new workers in Groton and New London this year, according to president Jeffrey Geiger.
"We’re projecting a period of long-term growth. Throughout it, we must continue to deliver Virginia-class submarines under cost and ahead of schedule, deliver high-quality Ohio Replacement design products and develop our workforce to meet the challenges of this increased workload,” Geiger said in a memo to employees.
"That is the best news we've heard in a long time," said Tony Sheridan, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut. "The region needed something like this. The ripple effect from this will be enormous, just the new people that will be brought in to the area, the real estate, the construction business."
Congressman Joe Courtney helped deliver funding for the company's latest projects, which include building two Virginia-class subs a year for five years and the design and engineering work for new subs to replace the retiring Ohio-class. Construction is slated to start on the replacement fleet in 2021, according to Electric Boat.
"This is a huge priority right now in terms of where the Navy wants to invest its resources," said Courtney. "It is such a tight competitive budget environment right now for defense and everything else in Washington. The fact that Electric Boat's work stands out in terms of the national security needs for the country but also the high performance of the people there, it just speaks volumes."
Right now, Electric Boat employs 12,800 workers company-wide.
