‘Cautious’ optimism follows top warship builder’s productivity, workforce wins

The country’s largest builder of warships is keeping more of its shipyard workers after boosting wages and hiring better-qualified recruits, said HII CEO Chris Kastner on Thursday. “From a labor perspective, we have hired over 4,600 shipbuilders year-to-date and our retention rates have improved at both shipyards. At Newport News, we’ve seen an increase in experienced hires following the wage investment this summer and increased hiring from regional workforce development p