FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence reports live from the Pennsylvania Defense & Innovation Summit, highlighting $10 billion in defense deals and 4,000 new jobs.
With the American merchant fleet down to fewer than 190 flagged vessels from a high of nearly 3,000 in the 1960s, a critical national security gap has left the U.S. heavily reliant on foreign shipbuilders.
To help reverse this decline, JPMorgan Chase announced Wednesday it is injecting $24 million into Philadelphia’s maritime sector to help secure the defense supply chain, building a new submarine assembly facility and training thousands of workers for critical defense roles.
“America can compete and lead in shipbuilding again—it starts with more skilled workers and secure supply chains. We need to train people for the jobs shipbuilders urgently need, connect them to good careers and strengthen the suppliers and partners that keep a shipyard running,” JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a press release.
“When we build the workforce and the supply chain together,” he added, “we create good careers for workers and a stronger, more resilient maritime industry that supports our national security and our economy.”
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“America cannot restore its industrial strength or ensure peace through strength without investing in the workforce that powers it. Philadelphia has long been one of the great shipbuilding cities in the world, and today’s investment by JPMorgan Chase—the kind of investment we’re proud to feature at today’s Defense and Innovation Summit—recognizes that revitalizing this industry requires more than ships and shipyards,” Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., also said.
Shipbuilding workers and Navy sailors walk past the USS George Washington as it rests pier side. (Getty Images)
“It requires creating opportunity for people. By supporting workforce development and strengthening local communities, this commitment will help prepare the next generation of skilled workers who will build the ships that protect our country and reinforce Pennsylvania’s role as a cornerstone of America’s defense industrial base,” the senator continued.
The corporate commitment will use $18 million in commercial financing and capital investments, while the remaining $6 million will come from philanthropic contributions.
The project funds construction of a 95,000-square-foot submarine assembly plant, which will create 450 permanent jobs. Additionally, the program targets the Philadelphia Navy Yard — an industrial hub supporting 16,000 active positions across manufacturing and maritime sectors — to scale non-degree educational pathways.
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“Philadelphia is a place where targeted, coordinated investment can translate into real economic mobility,” said Tim Berry, JPMorgan’s global head of corporate responsibility and chairman of the mid-Atlantic region. “By strengthening workforce pathways, supplier readiness and access to capital, we can help more people connect to quality jobs and help local businesses participate in long-term growth.”
“When organizations like JPMorgan Chase invest in Philadelphia, they’re investing in our people,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. “They’re helping create the kind of opportunities that let someone learn a new skill, earn a good paycheck and build a better life for themselves and their family. That’s exactly the future we’re creating in the Lower South and at the Navy Yard: more pathways to family-sustaining careers and more opportunities for Philadelphians to help build America’s future.”
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The rest of the $24 million investment will go toward supporting local businesses and training workers for the shipyard. This includes a $5 million low-cost loan program to help small businesses create or retain 200 jobs and $1.5 million to help 100 local maritime suppliers upgrade their facilities.
Another $2 million will go toward training 300 Philadelphia residents for manufacturing jobs that do not require a college degree, alongside a $2.4 million grant to connect those workers with employers. The entire package is part of a 10-year, $1.5 trillion commitment by JPMorgan Chase to fund domestic industries that are vital to U.S. national security.
