Del Toro Calls for Building Ships Before Stocks
Shipbuilding must stick to schedule and budget, Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the Navy, warned the audience in a passionate keynote at WEST 2024 on Thursday.
“I need you to deliver platforms and capabilities on time and on budget without excuses,” he told executives and entrepreneurs in the defense space.
The secretary also addressed the supply chain challenges brought about by the pandemic.
“Yes, COVID had a negative impact on the supply chain, but we need to move beyond that now,” he said.
The country needs to increase its shipbuilding capacity, and business people should check their ambition to contribute to national security, according to Del Toro.
Improve immigration reform.
“Overall, many of you are making record profits—as evidenced by your quarterly financial statements—and while I am happy for you, you can't be asking for the American taxpayer to make greater public investments while you continue to goose your stock prices through stock buybacks, deferring promised capital investments, and other accounting maneuvers that—to some—seem to prioritize stock prices that drive executive compensation rather than making the needed, fundamental investments in the industrial base at a time when our nation needs us to be all ahead flank,” Del Toro said.
Secretary Del Toro repeatedly demanded shipbuilders stick to their commitments to the department and called for innovation to bridge the gap that divides the People’s Republic of China and the United States in their capacities to deliver platforms.
“And for those of you who think I will not hold firm, you obviously do not know me very well,” Del Toro warned.
I need you to deliver platforms and capabilities on time and on budget without excuses.
In fiscal year 2023, nearly 1,000 small businesses became Department of the Navy suppliers, Del Toro explained and called for an updated immigration policy that would increase labor supply for shipyards.
“We must reignite our manufacturing prowess, and we need 150,000 new, qualified workers to choose a career in shipbuilding over the next 10 years to make it happen. Pre-apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship and labor management programs are critical tools to help fulfill this labor demand,” Del Toro told the audience.
And he went off-script to add a comment for Congress in which he urged polarized lawmakers to come together to “improve immigration reform; and all of you should have blue-collar workers as you deserve; that has been part of our nation's history since the very founding of our country,” Del Toro said.
AFCEA co-hosts WEST 2024 with the U.S. Naval Institute. The yearly event will continue until Thursday February 15. You can join the conversation on this event on X, formerly Twitter, using the hashtag #WEST2024.