The company announced on June 23 that the 160 jobs would be cut from its 450 workforce as the Air Warfare Destroyer project grinds to a close late July.

A Forgacs spokesperson said that the job loses were part of a winding down process which had included various rounds of redundancies during the past 15 months.

"Sad to say that unless new contracts can be secured, there's a real possibility that the remaining jobs could go between July and December this year," the spokesperson said.

"The company will continue to look for new projects and tenders.

"It is an unfortunate situation that has been talked about with the federal government for some time ... they would be very aware of the company's circumstances."

The spokesperson said that Forgacs employed many skilled tradespeople from the Tomaree, Tilligery, Raymond Terrace and Medowie regions.

Eighteen months ago Forgacs at Tomago - the key site for construction of destroyer modules and a range of commercial vessels, including cargo ships, tugs, ferries and luxury cruisers - employed 900 workers.

Federal Member for Paterson Bob Baldwin has blamed the job losses on Labor for their inaction on shipbuilding during their time in government.

"The Coalition is considering options for a continuous shipbuilding strategy as part of the Defence White Paper to be released later this year," Mr Baldwin said.

"The previous Labor Government did not commission a single naval vessel from an Australian yard, resulting in the current precarious and uncertain state of our shipbuilding industries."

Newcastle's Labor Federal Member Sharon Claydon said that she had raised the Forgacs issue 13 times in Parliament.

"The shipbuilding industry is dying a slow and agonising death and the Forgacs workers who are losing their jobs don't need excuses," Ms Claydon said.

"Forgacs has been forced into this position ... because the Abbott Government has done nothing to support our vital shipbuilding industry since being elected nearly two years ago."