(MOBILE, Ala.) — BAE Systems is closing its ship repair yard in Mobile due to the continued downturn in oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, AL.com reported. The company expects to lay off 155 of its 170 workers at the site by the end of June.
Shipyard employees were told of the decision on Wednesday, according to Karl Johnson, BAE's director of communications for platforms and services.
"The reason we're taking this step with that ship repair operation is that its primary business was supporting vessels that were part of the oil and natural gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico," Johnson said. "That business has been in a prolonged downturn."
"We expressed our appreciation to our employees for our hard work," he said. "These are highly skilled people and it's hard to go through what we're announcing today."
In August 2016, BAE announced it was cutting its Mobile work force in half due to the industry slump. About 200 people were laid off that fall.
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