Local
Employees at U.S. Navy contractor Electric Boat are taking voluntary furloughs, but the company says that won't delay the delivery of submarines.
The Groton, Connecticut-based manufacturer says 138 employees at its Rhode Island facility volunteered for a 45-business day furlough.
Spokesman Timothy Boulay says the furloughs are needed because of late deliveries of major components, general materials and specialized raw materials.
He says the deliveries are late because of a multitude of issues involving several suppliers occurring simultaneously. The employees are mostly welders, pipefitters and shipfitters.
Boulay says the company is still on track to meet contracted delivery dates.
Electric Boat has 11 submarines in various phases of construction in Rhode Island, Connecticut and at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.
The shipyards build Virginia-class attack submarines under a teaming agreement.