Electric Boat lands largest shipbuilding contract in modern history

GROTON, Conn. (WFSB) - Electric Boat has secured the largest shipbuilding contract in modern history, a $77 billion deal that will bring thousands of new jobs and new housing challenges to southeastern Connecticut.

The Navy contract calls for the construction of nine Virginia-class submarines and five Columbia-class submarines. Electric Boat will also receive $5 billion to renovate its Groton shipyard. The deal took more than 1,500 days to negotiate.

Electric Boat set a goal of hiring 8,000 new employees to meet the demands of the contract. More than 4,000 people have been hired this year alone, putting the company roughly halfway to that target.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said the contract will help steady the company’s production pace.

“Having a contract like this will help with production cadence,” Courtney said.

Electric Boat has been producing one submarine per year for the past four years. The company plans to maintain that pace.

To support its growing workforce, Electric Boat purchased the former Crystal Mall. The facility is currently being renovated and will be used primarily for worker training.

Mark Rayha, president of General Dynamics-Electric Boat, said the move is part of a broader effort to focus the Groton waterfront on shipbuilding.

“We want to be able to clear the waterfront in Groton to focus just on shipbuilding,” Rayha said. “So, things that are important but don’t need to be on the waterfront can be placed in the mall.”

The influx of thousands of new workers is expected to strain an already tight regional housing market. New London Mayor Michael Passero said the area is short at least 10,000 housing units.

“Everybody is competing. And EB is by far the biggest contributor to the housing need right now,” Passero said. “We need to stabilize prices. The supply and demand is so out of whack that it’s putting undue pressure on the cost of rents and the cost of housing in general.”

Passero said New London is adding hundreds of units per year but acknowledged the region remains far short of what is needed to meet demand.