When a job at a gas station chain pays like a career in a shipyard, something is off. That gap sits at the heart of US naval worries about building enough warships. Navy secretary John Phelan warns that pay in many yards trails what workers earn at Buc-ee’s or Amazon. The result is a shrinking pool of welders and technicians. Without better wages and conditions, shipyards struggle to keep the experienced people complex vessels demand.
Low pay erodes the workforce behind modern warships
At a recent defense summit in Fort Wayne, Indiana, John Phelan set out a blunt warning. Across several states, he said, shipyards cannot fill vacancies because entry pay often looks little better than basic retail work. Skilled roles stay empty, and training pipelines stall before they even start.
Phelan pointed to popular employers such as Buc-ee’s and Amazon to show the gap. Job listings on Indeed suggest general staff at Buc-ee’s make between fifteen and twenty five dollars an hour. Amazon says its US fulfillment and transport workers now average more than twenty three dollars.
Yet shipyard employees spend long days welding inside tight spaces, handling heavy steel, and working near heat and noise. When that effort pays roughly the same as stacking shelves, many candidates walk away. That makes it harder to sustain the industrial base that turns designs into warships.
How shipyard wages undercut hiring and training
Experts and Navy leaders have long tied the sector’s troubles to pay that lags other industries. Constructing a sophisticated vessel requires skilled welders, electricians, pipe fitters and planners that operate in an environment where strict safety is paramount. When your compensation does not keep pace with the level of expertise, the pipeline of apprentices and trainees to replenish tradespeople evaporates quickly.
Many of these jobs are performed outside in the weather or in a noisy, cramped work environment. Scheduling of workers can extend into night or weekend hours associated with demanding deadline constraints. In contrast, logistics distributions, shipping hubs or retail stores can offer less messy, consistent work schedules and they can have the same or very close compensation. That difference shapes every career choice a young worker weighs.
Specialists have suggested several fixes to make shipyards more attractive. Better housing near yards, safer workshops, and modern tools, including more automation, all help. Yet Phelan and others return to pay, because strong wages anchor any plan to keep people who build warships.
Why better pay is vital for future warships
Reports from the Government Accountability Office have highlighted another side of the pay problem. Shipyards can sometimes hire new staff, yet they lose seasoned hands faster than they arrive. When experienced welders and supervisors quit, projects slow, quality slips, and younger teams lack mentors on the shop floor.
Some large builders, such as Huntington Ingalls Industries, have seen average years of experience fall inside their yards. That shift means more time spent training each recruit before they can handle critical tasks alone. It also raises costs, because every departure forces managers to restart the learning curve.
In the post-Cold War era, lean budgets encouraged layoffs and early retirements across the sector. Rebuilding that deep pool of expertise has become a strategic goal for the Navy and its partners. Higher wages sit at the center of that effort, because long careers keep knowledge inside the warships industry.
Delays, overruns, and the cost of an overstretched industrial base
Shipbuilding delays and cost overruns rarely come down to a single cause. When programs slip, leaders often point to design changes or supply shortages. Behind those factors lies a basic problem, as too few experienced people can serve several big projects. Major programs feel that gap first, because each schedule rests on scarce specialists.
Shipyard managers say they must offer pay that matches other local employers before anything else can improve. Once wages rise, they can schedule more training, reduce overtime, and spread skills across teams. Without that base, even generous investment in tools and docks fails to speed up delivery schedules.
Huntington Ingalls Industries has reported early progress after raising pay and recruiting through regional training programs. Its chief executive, Chris Kastner, told investors during a recent third-quarter earnings call that results look cautiously optimistic. The goal is simple: a stable workforce that can deliver complex warships on time and on budget. More experienced teams also waste less material and avoid rework. Those gains matter when every budget line and delivery date faces intense public scrutiny.
What higher pay would mean for workers, communities, and security
For people near major yards, shipbuilding jobs still carry pride and a sense of purpose. Families know these roles support local shops, schools, and small suppliers. When recruitment slows, that economic web frays, and younger residents often leave town in search of steadier, better paid work elsewhere.
Shipbuilding unions approached by Business Insider declined to comment on wage levels, which vary widely by role and location. Buc-ee’s said only that its employees receive strong compensation to reward hard work and commitment. Amazon did not respond, though its published figures underline how competitive warehouse and transport pay has become.
For the Navy, the stakes reach far beyond any one contract or company. A healthy industrial base underpins fleet readiness, crisis response, and long term deterrence. Without enough skilled people to build and maintain warships, even the best strategy risks delay. Money alone cannot quickly fix a shortage of time served talent.
What higher wages now mean for the Navy’s future
While increasing shipyard wages won’t address every issue, it will simultaneously open the door to numerous other advancements. Increased compensation attracts new hires, prevents veterans from quitting, and funds the training required for the most demanding jobs. The strength of the industrial base will be put to the test as the Navy develops its next generation of warships. That test will depend on whether these promises turn into lasting contracts and real, reliable paychecks.
