Senator Chuck Schumer is criticizing reported cuts targeting the Watervliet Arsenal's workforce.

Schumer, in a statement Wednesday morning, said the rumored DOGE-recommended cuts to the Arsenal's workforce, reported by the Times Union, "would undermine Watervliet Arsenal’s production of the top-notch large-caliber cannon tubes, gun barrels, and other critical components for the U.S. Army."

The Senate minority leader, in a letter to Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll, said the reported cuts would hurt the Arsenal's capacity to manufacture cannons for the military and therefore degrade Army mission readiness.

"When Secretary Driscoll met with me in early February, I told him how valuable the Watervliet Arsenal is and that he should visit Watervliet Arsenal, now seeing this facility’s work firsthand is more pertinent than ever," Schumer said in his statement. "Once Secretary Driscoll visits Watervliet, I am certain he will realize the civilian workforce’s unquestionable contributions to national security, namely their unique and irreplaceable expertise honed over 200 years of delivering quality munitions, armaments, and artillery weapons systems to the warfighter."

Citing the Times Union report, Schumer's statement said cuts proposed by both DOGE and the Pentagon would reduce the Arsenal workforce by up to 40%, with 20% of the laid-off workers being military veterans. The oldest continuously active arsenal in the country has produced weaponry for the military since the War of 1812.