Austal

ASX:ASB

Defence shipbuilder. Naval vessels and patrol boats.

Industrials5,500 employees
Offshoring Summary
Figures reported in public sources at the dates shown. Current numbers may differ.

Estimated % of Workforce

~16.4%

illustrative, not directly reported by the company

Destination Countries

๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Shipyards in Philippines (Cebu, 800+ workers) and Vietnam (Vung Tau). Commercial shipbuilding placed in low-cost countries while defence work stays in Australia/USA.

Financial Context

Market Cap

$2.0B

Revenue

$2.1B

Estimated Wage Differential

~$77M/yr

Estimate uses avg AU employment cost of $110,000+/yr (incl. super and on-costs) vs offshore $25,000/yr (salary + on-costs). Actual figures vary by role, seniority, and location.

In Plain English

  • In 2012, Austal was reported to have 900+ offshore contractors and staff.
  • This represents ~16.4% when compared to its current workforce of 5,500 (illustrative comparison only, not directly reported by the company).
  • ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ 900+ staff reported in Philippines in Engineering.

Based on data from public sources at the dates reported. Figures may not reflect current headcount. See sources below for full attribution.

Department Breakdown

DepartmentCountryHeadcountConfidence
Engineering๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines900Estimated

Offshoring Timeline

DateDepartmentCountryHeadcountConfidence
1 Jan 2012Engineering๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines900Estimated
1 Jan 2018Engineering๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnamโ€”Estimated

What Public Sources Say

All information below is sourced from publicly available documents and reporting. Excerpts are direct quotes. Click source links to verify.

Modern Slavery Statement
Austal Modern Slavery Statement FY2023 โ€” shipyards in Philippines (Cebu), Vietnam, China
โ€œAustal operates shipyards in Australia, the USA, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China. Austal Philippines Pty Ltd in Cebu with 800+ Filipino workers. Commercial shipbuilding in low-cost countries, defence work in Australia/USA.โ€

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This list is not complete, and never will be

If a company isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it doesn't offshore. And every number is the lowest we can prove, so the real figures can often be higher.

Read why

This started as an ASX 200 project and mostly still is. It has widened as stories landed from outside that list, so it now also covers employers that aren't ASX-listed, like Canva, Allianz Australia, SS&C and Crown Resorts, along with government departments and agencies. Companies get added when something surfaces about them, not by working through a list in order.

Australian companies are under no obligation to disclose where their work is done, and there is no register of offshored jobs. Everything here comes from something that surfaced publicly: an annual report, a modern slavery statement, a news article, a union statement, a government contract, or a tip from someone who was there.

So an absence usually means nobody has reported on that company and we haven't got to it yet, not that it keeps its work onshore. Some of the biggest offshorers say nothing at all. And because each figure counts only what a source actually stated, the real numbers can often run higher, sometimes much higher.

Every figure links to the source it came from, so you can judge it yourself rather than take our word for it. If you know something that is missing or wrong, tell us. Corrections are published, not quietly buried.

This profile reflects public information at the time of publication and may not match current operations. Is something wrong or missing about Austal? Submit a correction. We welcome input from companies, employees, and researchers.