The termination orders came from the Department of the Navy, not the shipyard itself, labor leaders said. The terminations could save the yard less than $300,000 annually.

Senators and union leaders say Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's thousands of workers should be exempt from Trump administration's job cuts.

The union that represents workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery says Elon Musk and DOGE have laid off six people. The union says the six civilian employees were laid off Tuesday morning by the Navy in an in an effort to cut the workforce at the Department of Defense.

Six probationary civilian employees at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard were laid off Tuesday morning, according to a local union leader.