Lexington COO Loren Thompson was quoted in a piece by the Newport News, Virginia-based Daily Press projecting that the recent AUKUS defense agreement with the UK and Australia would bring more business for the city’s shipyards. “It sure is early days, but I don’t see how the Australian deal could not have positive implications for Newport News,” said Thompson.
He said that this would be true even if a lot of the work goes to Australia. “The Australian yard is a major employer in Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia, and the Australians are eager both for the jobs and the technical knowledge the nuclear sub agreement would bring,” he said, and “in order to make a deal like this work, as much of the labor as possible would have to be done in Australia.” However, Thompson added, “Newport News has the expertise… It may be that people are going from Newport News to Australia, but we’re still talking hundreds of jobs,” he said.
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