SCHUMER, IN PERSONAL CALL WITH ARMY SECRETARY, SECURES COMMITMENT FOR WATERVLIET ARSENAL OF NO LAYOFFS & THAT RUMORED ‘DOGE’ CUTS WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD; ALSO, SECRETARY PLANS TO VISIT ARSENAL TO SEE WORK IN CAPITAL REGION FIRSTHAND

After Reports Emerged Last Month Watervliet Arsenal Could Face Staggering Cuts, Schumer Immediately Pressed Army For Answers, Highlighting The Capital Region’s Top-Notch Workforce – And Received Assurance From Army Secretary Personally Rumored Plans For Layoffs Will Not Move Forward

Schumer Said Rumored 40% Cuts – Nearly 300 In Capital Region – Would Have Decimated The Army’s Organic Industrial Base & Degraded Our Fighting Force’s Mission Readiness; Army Sec Agreed And Vowed To Work Together With Senator To Strengthen Watervliet – Says He Hopes To Visit Capital Region Later This Year

Schumer: I Will Always Defend Watervliet Arsenal As A Pillar Of America’s Defense

After rumored reports of the Pentagon and ‘DOGE’ directing Watervliet Arsenal to slash its workforce by up to 40%, and after weeks of advocating to protect the Capital Region’s workforce, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today announced that in a personal call with Secretary of the Army he has secured a commitment that rumored plans to lay off staff at Watervliet Arsenal will not move forward.

Schumer said retaining the Arsenal’s trained and productive civilian workforce, many of whom are veterans, in the Capital Region is essential to advancing America’s national security and support for troops in the field, and applauded the Secretary’s continued commitment to the workforce that domestically produces top-notch large-caliber cannon tubes, gun barrels, and other mission-critical artillery components for the U.S. Army.

“I just got off with Army Secretary Driscoll and I am proud to report he told me any rumored plans for layoffs or cuts at the Watervliet Arsenal will not be moving forward. When I heard the rumors of these devastating cuts for both the Capital Region and America’s ability to respond to foreign threats and support our troops in battle, I went right to the top of the Army to advocate for Watervliet Arsenal’s world-class workforce. I am glad that the workers at Watervliet Arsenal can now breathe a sigh of relief. Watervliet Arsenal’s highly skilled civilian workforce have irreplaceable technical expertise that have supported America’s troops and allies for generations, and we must continue to invest in the Capital Region to bolster America’s military capacity and national security,” said Senator Schumer. “The civilian workforce of the Watervliet Arsenal, many of whom are veterans, are absolutely essential to make the top-notch large-caliber cannon tubes, gun barrels, and other mission-critical artillery components for the U.S. Army. I sincerely thank the Army for heeding my calls for protecting the workforce of the Capital Region, and committing to ensure the Watervliet Arsenal continues to remain a pillar of America’s defense for generations to come.”

“We are ecstatic to hear there will be no cuts to the Watervliet Arsenal. The men and women of the Arsenal are dedicated, patriotic Americans that have always supported the warfighters of this great nation and will continue to do so. Thanks to the hard work of Senator Schumer the Watervliet Arsenal will continue to do the great work to defend this nation," said Guy Belcher, President, National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 2109.

According to union leaders at the Watervliet Arsenal, a previously-rumored combination of proposed cuts from the Pentagon and from Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ were on the table to drastically reduce the workforce at Watervliet Arsenal by up to 40%, or approximately 300 workers—nearly 20% of whom are veterans themselves. The Albany Times Union reported that the cuts would affect project managers, quality control workers, maintenance personnel, and public works employees.

Schumer immediately sprung to action strongly opposing these cuts, and his office stayed in constant communication with the local union and workers who would have been impacted by this proposal. In a March, Schumer sent a letter to Secretary Driscoll detailing how these massive cuts would hurt national security and Watervliet Arsenal’s capacity to make cannon tubes, gun barrels, and mission-critical artillery components that the U.S. Armed Forces relies on to respond to current and future conflicts, ultimately degrading the Army’s mission readiness.

Schumer added that as Watervliet Arsenal is the Army’s sole-source producer of mission-critical cannon tubes, gun barrels, and other artillery weapon systems components, cuts to its workforce would have decimated our organic industrial base, degraded the Army’s combat readiness and warfighter lethality, and ultimately compromised our ability to project power in a large-scale combat environment or in a military contest against near-peer adversaries like China or Russia. Schumer explained that Watervliet’s workforce has unique irreplaceable technical expertise that makes the rapid production and delivery of long-range fires and quality artillery to our warfighters possible. Schumer reaffirmed that Watervliet Arsenal is a critical organic industrial base asset that—for more than 200 years—has provided direct support to our warfighters and boosted their combat readiness and lethality in the field, and as such Schumer will always fight for the arsenal’s workforce.

The senator continued this advocacy for weeks culminating in a personal call to the Secretary of the Army, on which the Secretary assured Schumer that at this time he has no plans to lay off or cut the probationary employees at the Watervliet Arsenal. The Secretary also affirmed his commitment to bolstering domestic munitions production and protecting the Army’s civilian workforce and said he planned to visit the Capital Region to see the work done at Watervliet Arsenal workforce does firsthand.

Constructed in 1813, the Watervliet Arsenal has played a vital role in America’s defense in every major conflict throughout the last 200 years of American history, producing large-caliber cannon tubes, components for several mortar systems, and other mission-critical long-range fires and combat capabilities for the Army. In addition, the facility has a demonstrated track record of supporting emergency projects with accelerated delivery timelines to address emerging capabilities, such as when it produced armor hardening kits for Humvees after they became targets of IED attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Army found it needed a more robust explosive device to reach Iraq’s deeply buried command and control bunkers. In just 23 days’ time, the Watervliet Arsenal developed and produced the first “Bunker Buster” bombs, by modifying howitzer tubes into 5,000-pound bomb casings. But more than land, equipment, and buildings, the Arsenal represents thousands of great Americans who have proudly served their country since 1813 by supporting our nation’s warfighters and allies for over 200 years.

###